It's the Naruto kidsthings are about to GO DOWN
by ChiVellie12
Summary: The Naruto gang and yes the Sand kids are introduced to Kakashi's niece, Minji character I made up but trust me it'll appear like she was already in the show and things take a turn for the worse. For instance, who the hell in the world gets to hug Gaara, kiss Neji on the lips, and make Naruto like her instead of Sakura all at once and get away with it? Kakashi's niece of course!
1. Chapter 1

My Naruto Story

Chapter 1: Meet Minji

Everyone was impatiently waiting for Kakashi to show up with his "surprise". He told everyone to come. This included Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Tenten, Neji, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, HInata, Shino, and Kiba. When he finally showed up, there was a person about their age with him.

"Sorry I'm late everyone she took a while to get here," Kakashi apologized.

"Who is this?" Naruto asked. Sakura hit him.

"Stop being so rude Naruto!" Sakura hissed.

"Everyone this is my niece, Minji. Minji, this is… well, they can introduce themselves, "Kakashi said. They all looked at the girl. She had white hair like Kakashi and it was long and in curls. Her eyes were dark pink and she was wearing a light pink ninja shirt and skirt, short black leggings, black shoes and her ninja headband was around her waist. She smiled at them. Naruto jumped in front of her and gave her thumbs up.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto practically shouted in her face. Minji jumped back a little but laughed.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto," she said. Naruto blushed; _she has the voice of an angel! _He thought.

"Hi Minji, I'm Sakura," Sakura said.

"You're named after a flower. How sweet," Minji said.

_Kiss up, _Sakura thought.

"Hello, I'm Ino," Ino said.

"I like your outfit. Purple looks good on you," Minji noticed.

_Kiss up, _Ino thought.

"My name is Rock Lee, and may I just say that you are extremely beautiful!" Lee introduced himself. Minji blushed.

"Thanks," she said.

"I'm Choji. You want some chips?" Choji asked almost immediately. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. Choji never shared on his own free will.

"Um, thanks but I'm not hungry," Minji said.

"Hey, I'm Shikamaru, and for once this is not a drag to do," Shikamaru said.

"I have a cousin named Shikamaru, that's so cool!" Minji smiled.

"I'm Shino," Shino said.

"Cool shades," Minji complimented.

"I'm Temari, nice to meet you," Temari said.

"Your hair looks awesome," Minji said.

"At least somebody noticed," Temari laughed.

"I'm Kankuro," Kankuro said.

"What's in that mummy thing?" Minji asked.

"Its better left unknown," Kankuro replied.

"I'm Sasuke," Sasuke said.

"Okay, my uncle told me about you," Minji said. Sasuke looked at Kakashi who looked away.

"I'm…uh…Hinata," Hinata said quietly. Minji looked at her and gasped.

"Oh my God! Your eyes are so cool! Is that real?" Minji asked. Hinata nodded.

"I'm Tenten," Tenten said.

"I like your hair too. I used to wear mine like that until it got too long to stay up," Minji said.

"I'm Neji," Neji said.

"You have the cool eyes too! Are you and Hinata brother and sister?" Minji asked.

"Cousins," Hinata and Neji said.

"I'm Kiba, and this is Akamaru," Kiba said holding up the dog. The dog jumped into Minji's arms and licked her face.

"Wow! He's friendly!" Minji laughed, she looked to the corner, "Um, who's that over there?"

"What? Oh, that's Gaara. Excuse him though, he doesn't like talking to people much, "Temari said, and then looked over to Gaara to make sure she didn't upset him. Gaara looked away, not really bothering to pay attention.

"Now that you all know each other's names, I think I'll leave you here with them. Don't stay out too late. Bye!" Kakashi waved to everyone then left. Minji turned to the group.

"So what do you guys do for fun around here?" Minji asked.

"Actually, we were all about to go get some ice cream," Ino remembered.

"Uh…I-we…can't," Hinata said, indicating her and Neji.

"Why not?" Tenten asked, worried.

"You see…um…,-well"

"We are requested to return home for an important family meeting or so they say," Neji finished for her, getting tired of her slow talking. They waved and left.

"Oh well, on to the ice cream parlor!" Naruto and Choji both shouted hungrily. They all went to the ice cream parlor and were waiting in line for their snack. When Minji took out her wallet, Lee put a hand in front of it.

"Do not waste your money, Minji. For I, Lee, shall buy your frozen dairy treat!" Lee offered.

"Um, thanks Lee, but really, there's no need to do that," Minji said.

"Hey, what are you doing, bushy brow? Minji don't listen to him; let me buy your ice cream!" Naruto insisted.

"Oh please, I have more money than both of you put together! Please, Minji let me buy it!" Choji interrupted.

"Um, Choji-"Minji tried to say but the boys began to argue. It continued until they all saw a vanilla cone appear in front of Minji's face.

"You said vanilla, right? It was sitting there getting ready to melt so here," Sasuke said. Minji took the cone and smiled while Naruto, Lee, and Choji sulked.

"Thanks uh…Sasuke, right?" Minji asked. Sasuke nodded and they went to separate tables. The boys at one table and the girls at the other.

"That's strange, I've never seen Gaara eat ice cream," Sakura noticed.

"He's probably just having one of his cravings, nothing to worry about," Temari answered.

"You seem to know a lot of Gaara," Minji said. Temari blushed.

"It's nothing, really. I mean when you travel with someone for so long" Temari said quickly.

"So Minji, what do you think of the boys?" Ino asked knowing that's what everyone was waiting for.

"Be specific," Minji said.

"Let's start with the annoying one. Naruto," Sakura said.

"Naruto's not annoying. I think he's sweet. He's got a strong spirit, I can tell that much," Minji explained.

"Okay, then what about Lee?" Ino asked.

"I like Lee; he talks in third and first person. It's kind of cute," Minji smiled.

"Well, what about Choji?'" Tenten asked.

"I don't really know," Minji replied.

"Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"He seems sort of laid back but in that way where it's not mysterious enough to pay attention too. My last boyfriend was like that," Minji remembered.

"Kiba?" Sakura asked.

"I love his dog! He's so cute! But why does Kiba wear that jacket? It's like 98 degrees out here," Minji laughed.

"Kankuro?" Temari asked.

"Not to be rude but his make-up scares me," Minji admitted.

"It scares everybody," Temari laughed.

"How about Shino?" Tenten asked.

"I don't know him either. But he seems a little weird in a cool way," Minji answered.

"What about Sasuke?" Sakura and Ino asked.

"I like Sasuke. I mean, my uncle told me about him before hand so I kind of already had a feel for him. He seems cool though, he's not too mean but he doesn't like to be bothered either. A good share in between," Minji said. Sakura and Ino narrowed their eyes but Minji didn't see.

"What about Neji?" Tenten asked a little concerned but not enough for anyone to notice….except Sakura.

"The guy with the eyes? He looks totally awesome! I wish him and his cousin would've been able to stay, I would've talked to him along the way over here. He seems like a person I would love to get to know more," Minji smiled brightly.

"And what about Gaara?" Temari asked in that same worried tone that only Sakura picked up.

"The one that doesn't like to talk? Okay, this is going to sound really mean but that dude looks so mad at the world. I think he needs a hug or something. He looks lonely. Should I go give him a hug or something?" Minji asked. All at once, all the girls began laughing hysterically and so loud that the boys turned over to them to see what was so funny.

"You can go ahead and try that but guarantee you won't live to see another day," Temari chuckled.

"A hug? To him? Oh, that's rich Minji! Rich!" Sakura laughed, doubling over.

"Hey! What's so funny over there?" Naruto shouted.

"None of your business bird for brains!" Tenten laughed.

"I'm so serious! I really want to give him a hug! He looks like he hasn't been hugged since the day he was born! Can I go give him a hug?" Minji asked Temari.

"Go ahead and try but guarantee he will kill you" Temari said, "Gaara doesn't even hug me and he considers me his sister, he even calls me sister sometimes so I doubt you'll have any more luck than I have!"

"Well, I'm going to go try. He needs one," Minji said. She got up out of her seat and strolled over to the boys' table. The girls watched, waiting to see what was going to happen. The boys all stopped what they were talking about and looked at her. Luckily for Minji, Gaara was the only one who was standing up aside from Sasuke who was leaning against the fence.

"Minji, what's wrong?" Choji asked.

"Nothing, I actually came over here to see Gaara," Minji smiled. Naruto and Lee spit out their ice cream.

"GAARA? For what?" Naruto asked.

"Well, he didn't say anything when you all first met me so I'm assuming I must've did something wrong so I came over here to apologize," Minji explained.

"Apologize? For what? You didn't do anything, Gaara just isn't a people's person," Kankuro said, then glanced at Gaara, who was either not paying attention to the situation or trying not to.

"Either way I feel bad, so I'm sorry Gaara," Minji said.

"Apologizing for something that was never seen nor noticed is stupid and idiotic," Gaara said. Kankuro's eyebrows lifted.

_So he was paying attention to the conversation, _Kankuro thought.

"It's not stupid if I really mean it," Minji giggled. She walked over to Gaara and everyone gasped as she tightly hugged Gaara, let go, and then skipped off to the girls' table. Kankuro looked at Gaara, waiting for him to explode and murder the girl, but Gaara didn't move. He actually stood there for a minute, looking as if he had just seen his death for a second, and then he resumed to normal and just licked his ice cream. When Minji returned to the table, all the girls were staring at her in shock.

"How are you alive right now?" Temari asked, completely shocked.

"I told you all he needed was a hug. He didn't even flinch," Minji smiled as she resumed to her ice cream.

_Wow. She hugged Gaara and he didn't even yell at her or glare at her. If I even say he has a caring heart sometimes I don't get spoken to for days…what's with this girl? Why was she so different? _Temari thought, a little upset and angry at the fact that Minji hugged Gaara and Gaara did nothing but continue to eat his ice cream. When everyone finished, they all went to the city lake to get some cool air.

_Meanwhile…_

Neji and Hinata sat on the mat in silence, waiting for Neji's father and Hinata's mother to speak. It was quiet for a long time, you couldn't even hear anyone breathing all except for Hinata of course, scared as usual.

"Neji, Hinata," Neji's father finally spoke up.

"Yes?" they both said at the same time.

"Thank you for coming home. We have some important news to discuss. Neji, you are aware that Hinata's birthday is coming up, yes?" Neji's dad asked.

"Yes father," Neji said immediately, even though he truly did forget.

"And you, Hinata, are aware that you are becoming a woman now as we speak," Hinata's mother said. Hinata nodded.

"Now we've come to realize that even though you two are from separate sides of the Hyuuga Clan, you both have been spending a lot of time with each other. Whether that be due to the missions being assigned or is it on your own free will, but we have noticed," Neji's dad said.

"You are both aware of the fight that is going on inside our clan, which is exactly why we have decided to call a truce," Hinata's mother said. Neji and Hinata looked up.

"A truce?" Neji said.

"A truce. Through you two. Now before I tell you this let me just explain one thing that's going to be perfectly clear. This decision we've made is made directly for the good of our clan. Our clan only gets along well when our children get along which entirely never happens. So on Hinata's birthday, two weeks from now, when everyone lines up to give Hinata her gifts, Neji…" His father said. Neji looked at him, and immediately got a horrible feeling in his stomach.

"Neji, you are requested, no, you are **ordered **to kiss Hinata on the lips," Neji's father said. Neji stood up along with Hinata.

"What? Are you serious? How does that settle a dispute that's been going on for years?" Neji yelled.

"Mama, what are you thinking?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Neji, you know in this family that it is traditional for the birthday girl or boy to be kissed by one of the family members," Neji's father said.

"Yes, but that hasn't happened in 10 years!" Neji pointed out.

"Exactly, and now it will. It's because that you two are from different parts of the clan that will bring the clan together when that happens," Neji's father explained.

"That's incest!" Neji shouted.

"Don't raise your voice at me, young man. There is no argument to be held. You are to kiss Hinata on the lips on the day of her birthday. That's an _**order**_! Understand?" Neji's father said coldly but loud enough to make it sound threatening. Neji opened his mouth to speak but then closed it, thinking. Hinata looked at him, praying that he would find some way around this or to get out of it completely. She didn't want Neji to kiss her. Not only was it her cousin but that would mean Neji would take away her first kiss. And then the others…what would they think? Naruto would kill Neji.

_Please Neji. Find a way out of this. You're a genius, think of something! _Hinata thought desperately to herself. She saw Neji bow his head as he mumbled.

"Yes, sir,"

"Very well then, you two are free to leave. Besides, I hear you two have been invited to a sleepover. Go on," Neji's father dismissed them and they left, Hinata in front of Neji so she couldn't see his face.

Chapter 2: Sleep Over!

Naruto was happy to see that Neji and Hinata had finally shown up, but he immediately could tell that something was wrong. Usually, Hinata would've blushed to see him and Neji would've had to drag her away. But both of them kept their heads down and just walked in and sat down in the circle. Nobody else seemed to pick up the vibe those two were giving off except him…or so he thought.

"Hinata, what is the matter?" Shino asked. Hinata stayed quiet.

"Yeah, Neji, you're awfully quiet, and not in the usual way either," Lee noticed.

"Mind your own business Lee," Neji suddenly spat. Tenten looked at him. Neji never acted that way towards Lee. It was normal for Hinata to not answer a question for Neji to lose his composure like that was just so…unreal. What was going on?

"Okay, everyone, what game shall we play?" Ino asked, trying to bring back the mood that was there before Hinata and Neji came in.

"Let's play how much ramen you can eat!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto, stop trying to eat people out of house and home," Sakura said, hitting him on the head.

"How about we play truth or dare?" Minji suggested.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea, and since you decided it Minji, truth or dare?" Temari asked.

"It's always dare for me, but I'll start off with truth," Minji said.

"Okay, then. Would you kiss a guy on the lips even if you just met him but he was cute?" Ino asked. Minji nodded.

"Of course. I've done it before," Minji laughed.

"No you wouldn't! You look to sweet for that," Temari smirked.

"I really would, you want proof?" Minji asked.

"I want to see some proof," Sakura said.

"Yeah, show us what you got girl," Tenten egged on. Minji shrugged.

"This just turned into a dare but okay then. Since you're the closest one sitting next to me, come here Neji," Minji smiled. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the mouth for about 3 seconds to 5, then let go and shrugged it off as if it was no big deal.

"See? I told you. Sorry it had to be you Neji, but you were the closest one and I didn't feel like getting up," Minji apologized.

"You're forgiven just don't ever do that again without warning," Neji responded. Minji laughed. Sakura looked over at Tenten and realized that Tenten was no longer smiling. She wondered why. Wasn't she was the other one asking for proof? Why was she so upset now?

"Okay, Sakura, you're next. Truth or dare?" Minji asked.

"Dare, I'm feeling anxious tonight," Sakura said.

"Oh, well since you're so anxious, here's your dare. Give Naruto a lap dance," Minji said. Sakura's eyes widened in shock and Naruto beamed.

"I like this dare!" Naruto said.

"Minji! Why him?" Sakura complained.

"Just do it, the faster you get it over with the better for you," Minji said. Sakura sighed deeply, truly upset about picking dare now. She slowly made her way to Naruto and sat on his lap, her back facing him.

"You're not going to do it right sitting that way. Turn around. Your face has to be facing his," Minji laughed. Sakura sighed and switched position, blushing all the way. Ino put on some party music, setting the mood and Minji gave her a high five. After about a minute or so, Sakura finally started, grinding against Naruto who was loving every second of it. The girls and some boys began to hoot and holler until Sakura got off quickly and sunk into her beanbag chair.

"You guys are so mean," Sakura said, but she was smiling.

"That was interesting," Naruto grinned. Sakura threw a pillow at him.

"Okay, so who's next? I know, Temari, truth or dare?" Sakura asked.

"Dare," Temari said.

"Okay, since you all seem to like lap dances so much, let's see Temari give Gaara a lap dance," Sakura crossed her arms and Temari's mouth dropped open along with Kankuro's. Gaara remained unfazed by the comment.

"You can't be serious! That's like my brother! That's-that's-"

"Exactly what you've been wanting to do since the day you met him," kankuro mumbled so nobody else but Temari could hear him. Temari smacked him hard on the nose.

"Gaara, you have a problem?" Minji asked. Gaara looked at her, then up at Temari.

"Not in the slightest," Gaara said, even though deep down he would've preferred Minji doing the lap dance. Gaara shook his head on the inside.

_What the hell was that? Where did that thought come from? I don't like anyone but myself, _Gaara thought furiously. Temari gulped loudly, got on top of Gaara, grinded on him, and was off in less than five seconds.

"That was corny," Minji laughed, but didn't pressure Temari.

"Okay, next?" Sakura asked.

"How about Rock Lee?" Minji asked. Rock Lee stood up.

"Seeing as this is turning into a dare or dare game, I choose dare!" Lee replied.

"Okay then, Rock Lee, I dare you to propose to Naruto," Tenten said. Rock Lee and Naruto's mouth dropped open.

"That's disgusting!" Naruto yelled.

"But it would be so funny," Minji smiled. Immediately, Naruto put out his hand and Rock Lee kneeled down in front of him.

"Oh, Naruto, my beloved partner, will you please marry me?" Lee asked, pretending to be serious.

"Hell no. I don't like your eye brows!" Naruto smirked. Everyone laughed, even Lee.

"I say that Kankuro is next," Lee said.

"Okay, dare me," Kankuro said.

"I dare you to sing 'I'm a Barbie Girl'. The chorus," Minji said instantly. Kankuro gulped, he wasn't expecting something like that. He took a deep breath and then began to sing:

_I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie Wooorrlllldd!_

_Life in plastic, it's fantastic!_

_You can brush my face, and dress my anywhere!_

_Imagination, life is your creation!_

"Okay, okay, you can stop now! That's creepy!" Temari yelled as everybody was doubled over in laughter, even Neji. Gaara, of course, only looked away, probably embarrassed that his comrade knew the lyrics to that ridiculous song.

"Okay, who's next?" Minji asked.

"Shino, you're turn," Kiba said. Shino groaned.

"I don't see why I have to do anything," Shino said.

"Actually, can Shino pass? Because I really don't want to see Shino do anything that might blind me for life," Naruto said. Minji giggled and Shino grimaced at him.

"So we skip Shino, who's next?" Temari asked.

"We didn't make Naruto, Kiba, Hinata, Choji, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Neji, or Gaara go yet" Minji named, "Wow, I'm happy I just memorized everyone's name just now!"

"Let's see…how about Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Give me the dare!" Naruto half shouted.

"Hm…I know" Tenten said, "Naruto, I dare you to give Sasuke a compliment." Naruto froze in place. Give Sasuke a compliment? How could he? Naruto gulped and looked at Sasuke who looked away.

"Um..Sasuke…you….you…you…," Naruto was clearly having difficulty.

"Hurry it up, will you?" Sasuke asked.

"Um…SASUKE YOU HAVE NICE HAIR!" Naruto shouted then clasped his hands over his mouth and sat back down.

"Why was that so hard?" Minji asked.

"I don't like Sasuke," Naruto grumbled.

"Speaking of Sasuke, how about you go next?" Ino asked. Sasuke shrugged which basically meant yes.

"Okay…Sasuke…I dare you to-wait! Look!" Tenten pointed to the clock. It read 8:34.

"It's s'mores time!" Minji cheered. She led them into the kitchen and they all began making s'mores.

"So how come Kakashi-sensei lets you do whatever you want?" Naruto asked, chewing on a gram cracker.

"Because I'm not his real child. But I'm pretty sure if he had a biological child it wouldn't be any different," Minji said. She turned to Tenten only to be faced with a cold shoulder. Minji was confused but didn't look any more into it.

"Gaara, you don't want any?" Temari asked. Gaara shook his head and Temari assumed that his sweet attack must be done with for now. He pushed the plate away from him.

"Gaara, look like you're having some fun, even Neji smiled at least once I think," Minji said. Gaara huffed and looked away from her, even though he had to force himself to do it; _The way she smiled at me like that almost made me __want __to smile…wait! Stop it! This isn't you! It's just a too damn happy child who likes making people around her feel happy!...Yeah, that's it. That's all there is…still…why do I still want to smile? _Gaara thought to himself. He put his head down, sighing in irritation.

Chapter 3: The Night Talk

At around 11pm, everyone decided to go to sleep. The girls slept in Minji's room while the boys slept downstairs because her room wasn't that big. But all the girls know that none of them were asleep.

"Are any of you guys seriously asleep?" Temari asked. They all shook their heads and sat up.

"Can I ask you all a question?" Minji asked. They all nodded.

"Is there something wrong with me? A few people have been giving me the cold shoulder, and when I say people I mean you, Tenten," Minji said.

"Me? How? When was this?" Tenten asked.

"Downstairs in the kitchen. When I turned to talk to you you didn't look at me," Minji said.

"Oh my! Did I really do that? Oh no, that wasn't on purpose! I would'nt have a reason to give you the cold shoulder! I'm sorry!" Tenten apologized. She hoped it sounded real because in her mind, Tenten did give her the cold shoulder on purpose. She didn't appreciate what Minji did during truth or dare, when she kissed Neji on the lips. Tenten liked Neji, and she was supposed to be the one to kiss him, not Minji. That girl just got there.

"Okay. Just checking. For a second there I thought I did something wrong" Minji smiled. Tenten rolled her eyes, glad nobody could see it in the dark.

"So, Minji, do you have any different views on the boys?" Temari asked.

"Not really, I mean, I thought it would but they all basically stayed the same. I'm usually good at guessing peoples' personality," Minji asked.

"Okay, I have to tell you guys something but you have to promise not to laugh," Sakura suddenly said.

"No promises," Temari and Minji said.

"Okay…remember when I had to give Naruto a lap dance? Well, for the short time that I was on there…I felt something…I don't really want to say it…," Sakura trailed off. Some of the girls were lost but Temari and Minji laughed.

"Naruto got a boner? Oh, that's rich!" Minji laughed and Temari doubled over. The rest of the girls, finally getting the joke, joined in. Except for Hinata who only blushed just thinking about it.

"Shut up! I told you not to laugh!" Sakura blushed harder than Hinata.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just that that's hilarious! Why did I expect something like that to happen?" Temari laughed. After a while, her and Minji calmed down so they moved on to the next subject.

"I'm going to ask exactly what I know everybody's been thinking in this room since it happened," Ino said. Everyone but Minji, who was lost, smiled and looked at her.

"What?" Minji asked.

"What was it like?" Ino asked.

"What was what like?" Minji asked. She was so confused.

"Kissing Neji, you idiot. What was it like?" Ino asked. Minji was quiet for a minute, then she laughed.

"Oh, that? I thought it something serious. I don't know. I mean, it's not like it was real kiss because he didn't kiss back. I kind of didn't expect him to I mean I did sort of jump him. It was nice if you want a description of some sort. His lips were soft," Minji shrugged it off, not seeing what the big deal was. Tenten rolled her eyes again but pretended to be happy about this. It just wasn't fair to her.

"You know, when I first saw you my immediate thought of you was 'this little girl looks like another Hinata except with white hair', but now I see that you have some spunk," Temari approved.

"My uncle is the perverted, sex obsessed Kakashi, what did you think I would be like? I'm not afraid to do stuff with guys I've just met. I know that sounds whorish but honestly, I just don't care. It's not like I plan on sleeping with any of them," Minji explained. Hinata smiled at her, admiring the way she was so confident about everything. Hinata wished that she had that kind of courage. Maybe if she did, she would be able to tell Naruto how she felt about him.

"Speaking of the boys, I think you can tell who already has a crush on you," Sakura said. Minji nodded.

"Naruto, Lee, and Choji. Choji is sweet and all but I'm just not into him like that. Lee is sweet as well but he needs to tone it down a notch. Naruto is really fun and amusing but I don't appreciate the fact that he hates Sasuke like that. They train together, you have to get along eventually," Minji said.

"Well, who do you want to pay more attention to you?" Temari asked, being nosy as ever.

"Why would I tell you that? Besides, I might get people mad if they like that person," Minji said. Nobody knew, but she was thinking of Tenten.. She could tell that from the way Tenten reacted that Tenten had a thing for Neji. She honestly couldn't care less though.

_I literally just got here, this girl needs to chill. If she wants Neji so bad then she needs to stop just sitting next to him and say something or better yet, do something. It's not my fault that Neji doesn't notice you like that. I already know from Naruto that they train together so what exactly is she waiting for? But if she wants him then too bad because she waited too long, _Minji thought with an attitude.

"Well, if you really want to know…the two, no, actually the three people I like are Sasuke, Neji, and by all means Gaara too. I thought zi liked Kiba for a second but he didn't really do much but pay attention to Akamaru," Minji said.

"I knew it! Neji, I didn't know but I knew you liked Gaara and Sasuke!" Sakura said. Tenten rolled her eyes again and Minji was just about ready to tell that girl off.

"So, who's on top of the list?" Temari asked.

"It's Neji, I think. I mean, I already knew a little about Sasuke and Gaara seems cool but Neji and Hinata's eyes just like blew me out of the park," Minji said. Minji laughed in her head. The real person on top of her list was Gaara, but she said it was Neji and gave good reason just because she now knew for a fact that Tenten liked him. She hoped that this girl puts up a big fight for her man. She wanted to ask Tenten how she felt about that but was afraid that she would give away Tenten's secret and the fact that she knew her secret.

"So we need to know more about Neji, huh? Okay, Hinata start talking," Ino said.

"Huh?" Hinata asked, shocked.

"You're Neji's cousin, aren't you? You should know more about him than anybody else in this room. Go on, start talking," Ino explained.

"Well…um…you see…the thing is…I don't exactly spend that much time with Neji as everybody thinks I do…because of our family…but I can tell you a few things I guess," Hinata said quietly.

"Start talking," Ino said kindly.

"Well…um…I know that Neji…has a low tolerance for spicy foods," Hinata said.

"That explains why Neji didn't want to eat that pepper a few days ago," Sakura realized.

"What else do you know?" Ino asked.

"Um…I know…that Neji doesn't like being bothered when he's meditating," Hinata said.

"Neji meditates? That's odd. Okay, let's try this. What does Neji want to see in a girl?" Ino asked trying to speed up this conversation.

"I'm sorry but…that I really don't know…you see, Neji's father has always tried to…pair Neji up with someone who he sees is worthy of the Hyuuga Clan…but um…Neji always either doesn't meet with them…or just rejects them cruelly…," Hinata explained slowly.

"Damn, cold much?" Temari said.


	2. Guys Talk!

The Real Chapter 2 Sorry!

Guys Talk!

While the girls decided to go to sleep, the boy decided that they were going to have a talk of their own.

"Hey are you guys still up?" Naruto asked. Everyone responded with a 'yes' except for Shino who had actually fallen asleep.

"Good, because we need to talk about some things!" Naruto complained.

"Oh, you mean how you, Choji, and Lee made complete fools out of yourselves for Minji?" Kiba asked, already laughing.

"Choji and Lee are just mad because they know that they can't compete against me in winning her over," Naruto huffed.

"Don't start again, please, you're becoming a drag," Shikamaru whined.

"Let's talk about that whole ice cream scene. Gaara, what was up with that?" Kankuro asked.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"Why'd you let her hug you? I thought you would've murdered her for doing that!" Kankuro explained.

"Don't expect it to happen again," Gaara said. That conversation was over.

"Okay, on to the next topic…Neji!" Naruto pointed a finger at Neji who glared.

"Neji what?" Neji asked.

"What was up with you and Hinata when you came in here? You two looked like you had died on the inside," Naruto said. Neji grimaced.

"Mind your own damn business, Naruto. Next topic," Neji ordered.

"The next topic is still you," Kiba piped up. Neji narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, and why's that?" Neji asked.

"Neji, you know what we're getting at," Lee said, not believing that his teammate could be so stupid right now.

"What are you morons talking about?" Neji asked.

"THE KISS YOU IDIOT!" Naruto practically shouted before being punched in the head by Sasuke, warning him to be quiet.

"Oh, is that what all this fuss is about? What about it?" Neji asked.

"What was it like, man?" Choji asked.

"I'm mad how out of all the people that Minji had to be sitting next to, it just had to be you. She could've kissed me!" Lee complained. He was very jealous of his teammate right now.

"Stop making a mountain out of a mohill. It was nothing, if you want to know the truth. It didn't even last long enough to even be considered anything more. Not to mention that I wasn't even prepared for it, she surprised me. So there's your answer…what?" Neji asked, realizing that all the boys were staring at him in disbelief.

"That's the longest I've ever heard you talk," Lee realized. Neji grimaced and rolled his eyes.

"Move to the next topic," Neji demanded.

"Who in here thinks that Minji's totally hot?" Naruto asked, beaming.

"Goodnight!" all the boys said as they laid down and went to sleep.


	3. Breakfast Catastrophe!

Chapter 3: Breakfast Catastrophe!

The girls were the first ones to wake up and they decided to cook breakfast (yea they're good like that). Most of the plates were ready, they were just waiting for some plates to heat up now since they had gotten cold.

"So, Minji, you going to surprise us again with something out of this world?" Temari asked, smirking.

"Let's see what happens, why don't we?" Minji laughed.

"You're not going to kiss Neji or give Gaara a hug again are you?" Tenten asked, half joking and slightly worried that she would give Neji another kiss.

"Giving Neji another kiss? No, unless he wants another one that is" Minji laughed, "But I'm giving Gaara another hug. In fact, he's going to get a hug from me everyday when I first see him," Minji smiled.

"If it works for you, maybe it'll work for me too," Temari joked. But on the inside, she was actually serious. It would be so romantic for her if she could give Gaara a sincere hug for once in her life.

"What smells so good down here?" a sleepy voice asked. The girls turned to find Kiba and Akamaru at the bottom of the stairs, staring hungrily at the food.

"Good morning Kiba and Akamaru. Pick any plate that you want, except for that one, that one belongs to Neji," Minji said, pointing to a plate that was on the right side of the table. Tenten also looked in that direction. She had to make sure that she remembered which was Neji's plate so she could be the one to give it to him. She's given him his food since they started working as a team and she wasn't going to stop all because Minji had appeared.

"This is so delicious! Who cooked?" Kiba asked. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"We all cooked! Mostly Hinata though, this girl has a secret talent on her hands," Ino smiled.

"Well-um-it's really-nothing-sp-special," Hinata blushed.

"You never cooked for Shino and I! You've been hiding a gift you little sneak! You ever cook for Neji?" KIba asked, laughing. Hinata only nodded for a quick second and then blushed harder.

"Kiba, don't make the girl blush this early in the morning," Minji warned, smiling.

"Make who smile this early in the morning?" a tired voice asked, coming down the stairs. It was Sasuke.

"Morning, Sasuke! Here, have a seat and eat," Minji beamed. She led him to the seat that she was sitting next to and he sat down and began eating. Tenten looked at the stairs, waiting for Neji to come downstairs, even though she had already forgotten which plate belonged to him.

"Hey, Minji?" Kiba asked while chewing.

"Yes?" Minji asked.

"Why do you know which plate is Neji's?" Kiba asked.

"Oh, well we made spicy sausage as part of breakfast and from what I've learned, Neji has a low tolerance for spicy foods so I made him a regular one, and I've got to make sure that he gets that one," Minji explained.

"Oh…for a minute there, I thought that you made something special for him or something," Kiba laughed, giving Akamaru some of his eggs.

"I just don't want somebody having a heart attack this early in the morning," Minji smiled.

"Who's having a heart attack?" Neji's voice asked from the stairs. Tenten, a little too quickly, greeted him before Minji could.

"Morning, Neji! Where's Lee, he usually wakes up the same time you do," Tenten wondered.

"He and Naruto are fighting upstairs and they were giving me a headache," Neji explained.

"Well come sit down! We made breakfast!" Tenten said, ushering him to chair. Neji looked at the food.

"This looks like something I've seen before. You cooked, didn't you, Hinata?" Neji asked, staring at his cousin. Hinata blushed and turned away. Neji had his answer. Tenten gave Neji his plate and sat next to him.

"Here, stop being grumpy and eat," Tenten said, shoving a piece of sausage into is mouth. Minji turned to say something to Sasuke when she looked at the plate that was in front of Neji.

"Oh no, Tenten wait that wasn't-"

Too late. Neji stopped chewing and his face lit up on fire. He gagged and started choking. Pretty soon, he passed out and fell on the floor. Tenten grabbed him, worried.

"Neji? Neji, wake up! Neji!" Tenten shouted.

"Tenten, you gave him the wrong plate!" Minji complained.

"I thought it was the right one! Sorry! Neji, are you okay?" Tenten asked, trying to shake him awake.

"What's all the commotion? And why is Neji on the floor?" Naruto asked, coming down along with Lee.

"What happened to my comrade?" Lee asked, going to Tenten.

"We had a spicy accident," Minji explained.

"I accidentally gave him the wrong plate. Come on, Neji! Wake up!" Tenten shook him more furiously as all the other boys finally came down the stairs and took their seats at the table. Finally, Neji opened his eyes and rubbed them.

"What the hell happened?" Neji asked.

"Tenten gave you the wrong plate and you had an episode," Minji replied before Tenten could tell him. Neji glared at Tenten.

"You are no longer allowed to touch my food," Neji said. Tenten let go of him so he could get up and glared at Minji when her back was turned.

_Stupid Minji! This is all her fault to begin with!...Oh well, the day is still young, and I will not lose Neji to her! _Tenten thought angrily. Minji turned and realized that Gaara had come downstairs without her knowing.

"Morning, Gaara!" Minji giggled. She walked over to where he was sitting and hugged him around the waist. Everybody stopped eating, waiting for Gaara to respond, but Gaara just stood there, not even having touched his food. She let go of him and went to putting all the dishes in the sink so she could eat.

"Don't get used to that," Gaara threatened as he finally decided to eat. Minji just rolled her eyes in amusement.

"You hugged Gaara and got away with it again? I suppose you're going to give Neji another kiss today, too?" Naruto asked. Tenten rolled her eyes. Why was everyone so content with bringing that up again?

"I'm not really planning on that, Naruto. I don't know, Neji, you want another one?" Minji asked, teasingly, knowing it was going to boil Tenten's blood. Neji didn't respond on account he was still mad with Tenten about the spicy food incident. Minji laughed and the crew made mindless chatter as they ate.


	4. Misunderstandings

Naruto Chapter 4

Misunderstandings

Everyone went their own separate ways after they left Minji's house. Minji went to go find her uncle Kakashi, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro went back to the Sand Village because they had a mission they had to take care of. Sakura and Tenten went shopping, Ino went to go work at her mom's flower shop. Rock Lee went to go train some more, of course, Choji went to eat, Shikamaru went to go home and do absolutely nothing, nobody knows what Shino was up to and Kiba and Akamaru went to the park. Naruto went o go eat some ramen. Neji and Hinata didn't go home straight away, in fact, they were sitting on top of someone's house, talking about their current situation at home.

"Did you think of something yet that could get you out of this?" Neji asked, his eyes closed.

"Um…not really," Hinata responded.

"Hn. Don't worry about it. I wasn't expecting you to have one anyway," Neji sighed.

"Well, Neji, what are you going to do?" Hinata asked. Nobody was ever around to notice, but when it was just Hinata and Neji, Hinata didn't talk so shyly.

"Gee, Hinata, you think I would've told you the idea if I had one?" Neji asked, not expecting an answer. Hinata and Neji sighed.

"I'm sorry Neji," Hinata said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for myself. I'm supposed to be the genius and I can't think of a single thing that could get us out of this…," Neji closed his eyes again.

"Why did it have to be on the lips? This wouldn't be a problem if it was on the cheek or something," Hinata said. Neji's head shot up so fast it scared Hinata and she thought there was an intruder.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked, scared. Neji smiled.

"Hinata, that's the perfect plan," Neji told his cousin. Hinata looked at him, confused.

"I don't get it," Hinata confessed. As Neji explained the plan in her ear, the two cousins didn't notice that they were now being watched by a very curious boy and his nosy dog. The two looked up at the two, confused as to what they were whispering about.

_This kind of looks wrong…but not really, I mean, they are cousins. And seeing that this is Neji and Hinata, I guess I should be happy that they're conversing at all, seeing as Neji doesn't even like Hinata like that, I just wish he wasn't so damn close, _Kiba thought in his head. Akamaru remained quiet, trying to hone in on the conversation going on on the roof. Neji pulled away from Hinata slightly, and Kiba looked back at them.

_At the roof:_

"Neji! That's wonderful!" Hinata cheered, hugging her cousin.

"Let go before somebody sees this act of caring," Neji threatened. Hinata laughed but let go anyway.

"I know it's wonderful. That's why I'm a genius. Besides, it would look weird if I messed up the first time and then did it again, the family would think something's up and I didn't do it on my own. So that means I only get one chance to kiss you. So 'by accident' you could just find something a bit more interesting than what I'm doing and turn your head so that way instead of my lips touching yours, they'll make contact with your cheek," Neji explained once more. Hinata nodded in approval.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to turn my head in time," Hinata said.

_Off the roof:_

_What the hell was that?! Did she just hug Neji? Neji? Out of all people? She never hugs me or Shino, and we save her in our missions sometimes. Cousins or not, that's just wrong. What's going on up there? _Kiba thought. He was worried now and Akamaru whimpered, sensing his feelings.

_On the roof:_

"Here, do it now for practice," Neji suggested. Hinata nodded, seeing as she should do it now so she can do it on the day of her birthday. Neji leaned in towards her and Hinata turned her face a few centimeters away from him and his lips landed on her cheek. Neji moved back, and smirked.

"Next time, make it look like you were interested in something else. From somebody else's point of view, they would've thought that was real," Neji instructed. Hinata laughed and nodded.

_Off the roof:_

Kiba and Akamaru's mouths dropped wide open. They couldn't believe what they had just saw.

_Neji just kissed his cousin on the cheek…Oh my God! What the hell?! No! That's wrong! That's just wrong! What are they thinking?! _Kiba thought furiously. Cousins didn't matter to him anymore, what they just did was wrong. According to Kiba's book, that kind of affection towards your cousin in such a manner was incest. He couldn't believe he just witnessed Neji giving Hinata a kiss on the cheek in that type of way, where nobody was around. Akamaru made a noise and Kiba looked back up. Oh no, what was happening now? Kiba was very worried.

_On the roof:_

"Let's try it again," Hinata said. Neji looked at her.

"Come on, this is a pain in the ass for me. You know I don't do this type of stuff. Can't you practice with Naruto or something?" Neji complained.

"Neji…you know that won't work…I'll probably pass out just asking….and we aren't supposed to tell anybody remember?" Hinata asked. Neji nodded, then sighed deeply. He only wanted to practice once, and now she's trying it again.

"Fine. One more time, but if you get it wrong, then oh well," Neji said. Hinata nodded in agreement. Neji rolled his eyes (even though can you really tell when they do?) and leaned in. Hinata looked to the side, pretending something else was more interesting. But then just as fast she thought of where Neji was actually going to be on the day of her birthday.

"Um, Neji, shouldn't we practice on both-" Hinata turned her head and stopped.

_Off the roof:_

_AHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK! NO! NO, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I GOTO TO GO! I GOT TO GO NOW! _Kiba thought furiously. He took off in a run, making sure he wasn't noticed by the two.

_On the roof:_

Neji pulled back from Hinata, in utter disbelief. Hinata just sat there, red as a cherry in the face and her mouth still opened. The two stared at each other, neither of them wanting to believe what had just happened when Hinata decided to turn her head without warning.

For Neji had now kissed Hinata on the lips, and it wasn't even her birthday.

_Oh no, Neji and Hinata kissed by accident and Kiba thought it was for real! This is not good! Not good at all! Why did Hinata have to turn her head? Why? Oh well, in the next chapter, Sasuke and Minji get some alone time…with Sakura and INo watching from the bushes of course. You really thought they were going to be alone? Not a chance in this story lmao! _

_Please rate and review! I need to know how this story is going so far! If you favorite it because you like it, I'll read your stories! _


	5. Time with Sasuke!

Chapter 5:

Some Time with Sasuke!

Minji regretted finding her uncle almost immediately the second after finding him. Since she was by herself, Kakashi had insisted she come with him to the book store. At first it sounded fun…until she realized that he was just looking to buy some more rated R books. Minji sighed heavily as she leaned against the wall outside the store. She started to think about the sleepover. It went good according to her opinion. Hell, she even got to kiss Neji and hug Gaara twice. She smirked to herself thinking of how jealous Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Temari were the whole time. Tenten the most, seeing as she was so obvious. Minji thought that maybe she should just tell Tenten to either back off so she can have Neji without hurting her feelings or to step up the game before she loses before she even starts. Her eyes drifted outside and she beamed, noticing Sasuke sitting across the street, drinking tea at one of the tea shops. Making sure Kakashi wasn't looking, Minji slipped out and went across the street.

"Hey Sasuke!" Minji smiled. Sasuke turned to her, nodded, and then turned back around. Minji sat herself next to him.

"Did you enjoy the breakfast we made earlier?" Minji asked. Sasuke put down his cup and looked at her in surprise. Why was she asking him that?

"I guess so. I mean it's been a long time since I've had a home cooked meal so I guess it was good," Sasuke retorted.

"You guess? Oh, I'm hurt. My uncle says I cook like a chef," Minji pouted.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was being honest," Sasuke said. Then he narrowed his eyes in realization. Did he just apologize to somebody? And meant it? He heard Minji chuckle and came back into focus.

"It's okay, I'm not hurt. At least you ate it," she smiled.

"So what are you doing around here?" Sasuke asked.

"What? Oh, my pervert of an uncle is looking to buy more books," Minji said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"That must explain his lateness to our missions every time we have one," he sighed.

"What do you mean?" Minji asked. As Sasuke explained to Minji how Kakashi is always late, they failed to notice Ino and Sakura walking past them. But Ino and Sakura didn't fail to notice them. Not wanting to be seen, they quickly hid behind the store wall.

"And just what the hell is she doing with my Sasuke?" Ino asked angrily.

"Your Sasuke? You mean mine. And I don't know," Sakura responded.

"You don't think he…invited her, do you?" Ino asked.

"I doubt it. I'm Sasuke's team mate and he never invites me anywhere," Sakura pouted at the facts.

"Well of course he wouldn't. He wouldn't be able to see where he's going thanks to your damn billboard of a forehead," Ino smirked.

"Why you-"

"Wait, be quiet. They're talking about last night," Ino shushed Sakura.

"I'm really glad the game stopped before it came to my turn," Sasuke said.

"Why? Afraid you were gonna have to do something embarrassing?" Minji laughed.

"Anything is fine as long as it wasn't what Kankuro had to do," Sasuke smirked.

"His wasn't that bad" Minji said, "I'm the one who had to kiss Neji."

"How is that bad? You looked like you enjoyed it," Sasuke said.

"I did but that's not the point. I picked truth and it ended up turning into a dare," Minji laughed.

"Oh, so you did like it," Sasuke said. Minji playfully punched him in the arm.

"Shut up. Did he like it? I know Naruto, Choji and Lee bombarded him with questions about the kiss when we all went to sleep," Minji said.

"Neji said it didn't last long enough to make a comment about it. Besides, I don't think it really mattered to him," Sasuke replied. Minji fake scoffed.

"It'll last longer next time, I'll guarantee that," Minji laughed.

"Wait, there's going to be a next time?" Sasuke asked.

"Next time?!" Sakura and Ino both whispered angrily.

"This isn't good! Do you hear this?! She plans on doing it again!" Ino recapped.

"Hey, if he wants another one he can get it. I have no problem," Minji laughed.

"Only Neji gets one?" Sasuke asked, smirking. He couldn't really tell what he was doing right now. Making conversation or flirting, but part of him was most likely doing the latter. Besides, this is the first girl that hasn't annoyed him since his mom.

"I didn't say only Neji. Why, somebody feeling left out? If it's Choji, he can forget it. I don't like barbeque breath," Minji laughed. Sasuke actually laughed himself. Ino and Sakura's tempers were flaring.

"Or better yet, are you the lonely one? You want one?" Minji asked, still laughing.

"Oh no she didn't! She's flirting with him!" Ino glared.

"She's been flirting with him for a while now, Ino pig. Don't you remember her saying last night that she had a crush on him too? Stupid," Sakura rolled her eyes but she herself wasn't liking this anyway. It was one thing for Minji to admit to the crush, it was a whole other thing for her to be actually pursuing him.

"Pft. I'll pass on your offer," Sasuke joked. Minji pretended to be offended.

"Have you forgotten whose niece I am? I was lucky enough to get the good kisser trait. You're missing a fabulous offer," Minji smiled. They both laughed again and Ino and Sakura trodded away, extremely angry.

"I can't believe this chick! She was flirting with him!" Ino complained.

"And doing a pretty damn good job at it too! She **just **got here! How the hell is she doing better with the boys than we are? It's not fair!" Sakura added.

"Did you hear what she said about there being a next time with kissing Neji?" Ino asked.

"Of course I did! That's so wrong! I really hope she doesn't, it'll hurt Tenten," Sakura said, then she covered her mouth realizing what she just said. Ino stopped walking upon hearing that.

"Wait, what? It'll hurt Tenten? What are you talking about?" Ino asked. Before Sakura could come up with a good excuse, Ino gasped and covered her mouth, already putting the pieces together.

"Tenten has a crush on Neji, doesn't she?!" Ino asked.

"Yes, she does. A very strong one actually. You couldn't tell by the way she behaved during breakfast this morning?" Sakura recalled this morning's events and Ino nodded at the facts.

"She told you she liked him?" Ino asked.

"No, I just figured it out. But promise that you won't tell anybody. I don't think she wants anybody to know yet," Sakura said.

"Cross my heart and hope to die. I promise I won't tell," Ino said. Both of them turned to leave but then stopped and looked at each other, knowing what they both wanted to do now.

"Want to go spy on them some more?" Ino asked.

"For once, I agree with you," Sakura smiled. They both walked back to the tea store and stopped in their tracks, mouths agape, as they saw the scene in front of them.

Minji and Sasuke's faces were extremely close to one another, with their heads turned towards each other, moving. From Ino and Sakura's angle, it looked like the two were kissing. Without another word, Ino and Sakura ran in the direction of Tenten's house, having to tell her what they just saw.

_At the tea store:_

Minji leaned closer to Sasuke as she watched the tea go from green to purple.

"Wow! Where did you learn to do that?! That's so cool!" Minji said happily.

"It's an old trick my dad taught me. It doesn't make the tea taste any different though, it just changes the color," Sasuke said, although he appreciated the compliment.

"That's really cool! Promise me you'll teach me how to do that?" Minji asked.

"It's gonna take some time but sure I'll teach you," Sasuke said.

"Pinky promise. And kiss it," Minji said. She held up her pinky and Sasuke wrapped his around hers and they both kissed their own hands.

"Minji! Come on! I found some great story time series!" They heard Kakashi yell from across the street. Minji rolled her eyes.

"Oh great. I'm gonna have nightmare tonight. Bye Sasuke!" Minji waved as she ran off towards Kakashi. Sasuke waved back then went back to his tea.

_There is a lot of misunderstandings going on, isn't there? Maybe if people would stop ease dropping on one another_ _so much this wouldn't be happening. Now Ino and Sakura are off to tell Tenten the wrong story! Look out for the next chapter, it includes a heavy conversation between Ino, Sakura, and Tenten. Also, Kiba tells Naruto what he thought he saw too. Stay tuned!_

_Please rate and review!_


	6. Tattle Tell

Chapter 6:

Tattle Tell

Finding it better to wait until the next day, Ino and Sakura waited until the next to tell Tenten what they had seen. They called her and told her to come over to Ino's flower shop. When she arrived, the two looked at each other worried and Tenten immediately caught on to the mood.

"Why do you two look so worried?" Tenten asked.

"Tenten, you will not believe what we saw yesterday," Ino said.

"What?" Tenten asked. She really hoped it had nothing to do with that Minji girl. She was already enough trouble as it was.

"We saw Minji with Sasuke yesterday at the tea shop," Sakura answered.

"Huh? So, what's so bad about that?" Tenten asked. She didn't know what this had to do with her. She didn't like Sasuke, she liked Neji.

"They were talking about when Minji kissed Neji at the sleepover…," Sakura trailed off.

"And…?" Tenten waited.

"Well, we're not exactly sure if Minji was joking or not but she said that if Neji wants to kiss her again that she'll do it!" Ino just blurted out. Tenten tried to act confused.

"Why are you telling me this? Neji is just my team mate," Tenten fake laughed. Ino sighed.

"Oh, brother. Sakura, I don't care what you say I'm telling her" Ino turned to Tenten, "Tenten, we know that you have a thing for Neji."

Tenten's mouth dropped open.

"What?! How do you-"

"You made it pretty obvious. That's why we had to tell you what we heard. We're sorry," Sakura explained.

"No need to apologize. I mean, I'm not all that shocked. But aside from that, what else did she say about Neji?" Tenten asked.

"She didn't say anything else about Neji but oh my God! Sakura and I left for like two quick seconds and then when we came back, Minji and Sasuke were kissing!" Ino said.

"Whoa, are you serious? Like actually kissing? For real?" Tenten asked.

"Yes! For real! Their heads were close to each others and they were both moving! They were kissing!" Sakura put the image in Tenten's mind.

"Oh my God! I don't believe that!" Tenten gasped.

"I know right?! I mean, first she kisses Neji, and now she's making out with Sasuke?! She s such a sleeze," Ino huffed.

"Ino! That's not nice…but very true," Tenten said.

"Guys, don't call her a sleeze! Besides, she kissed Neji because we practically dared her to do it! Sasuke, I just don't understand. He never pays that much attention to a girl," Sakura said angrily.

"What do you think is going to happen now?" Ino asked.

"Gaara," Tenten retorted.

"How?" Ino asked.

"Didn't you hear her at the party? She said she liked Neji, Sasuke, and Gaara. She kissed both Neji and Sasuke, so the only person left on her list is Gaara," Tenten said.

"Like hell. Gaara will never let her kiss him. He doesn't even like her hugging him," Ino laughed.

"What the hell is she trying to do? See who's a better kisser so she can decide who she wants to go out with?" Tenten asked.

"She's not going with Sasuke! I'll kill her!" Sakura and Ino both yelled.

"She's not going out with Neji either! I've worked too long for this to have it blow up in my face. Neji is my team mate," Tenten pointed.

"And Sasuke is mine!" Sakura added.

"Girls, we have to get rid of her," Ino decided.

"How? As long as Kakashi is here, she's not going anywhere. That's her uncle," Tenten said.

"She just **had **to be Kakashi-sensei's niece. No wonder she's already kissing Sasuke. She probably seduced him," Sakura spat.

"Wait! I have an idea!" Ino piped up.

"What is it?" Sakura and Tenten asked.

"Instead of getting rid of her, we'll just make sure she's occupied" Ino said. When Sakura and Tenten still looked confused, Ino continued, "Look, you know Naruto, Choji and Lee obviously like her? Well, let's just tell them that Minji is interested in all three of them, that'll have them trying to get her attention constantly. They'll be around her so much that she won't have time to talk to Sasuke, Gaara, or Neji! That way, while she's occupied, it'll give **us **some time to flirt with them. Understand?"

"Ino, you're a genius!" Tenten cheered.

"Yeah, for once. Don't get used to it," Sakura smirked.

"Shut up billboard head! So let's say we try it out tomorrow? When we all meet for the picnic that we planned weeks ago?" Ino asked.

"Sure," Sakura said.

"Wait! We have to let Temari and Hinata in on this or else they'll think something is suspicious and you know Temari has no problem ratting people out," Tenten pointed out.

"We'll call them right now," Ino said. She picked up her phone and dialed Temari's number.

"Hi, Temari? We have something to tell you…"

_At the Ramen Noodle Shop:_

"Come on, Naruto, where are you?" Kiba said to himself. He had told Naruto to meet him at the noodle shop, he even agreed to pay for the ramen. At first, Kiba wasn't sure about telling Naruto, but he knew that Hinata liked Naruto, it only made sense. He just hoped that Naruto wouldn't make a scene and yell at Neji or else the whole thing would be ruined. Akamaru barked, teling him that Naruto had arrived.

"Where's the ramen?" Naruto immediately asked.

"We need to talk," Kiba said.

"Ramen first," Naruto smiled. Kiba sighed and rolled his eyes. He ordered two bows of ramen and started to talk as Naruto stuffed his face.

"Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is pretty disturbing," Kiba started.

"It's not going to make me throw up, is it?" Naruto asked, slurping his noodles.

"Almost made Akamaru and I did. Anyway, well, remember when we all left Minji's house after the sleepover?" Kiba asked. Naruto nodded, still eating.

"Well, after that, I went to go take Akamaru for walk, and when I passed a certain house, I saw Neji and Hinata sitting on the roof of a house," Kiba said. Naruto nodded, still eating.

"What's so disturbing about that? I know Neji and Hinata's eyes are weird and all but that's nothing to be concerned about," Naruto said while chewing.

"It wasn't their eyes, Naruto" Kiba said, "Look, I couldn't exactly hear their conversation and neither could Akamaru, but one minute they're just sitting there talking, and then Neji whispered something into Hinata's ear…"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Naruto asked, slurping again.

"When he was finished, Hinata hugged him," Kiba said. Naruto's slurping got slower and he looked at Kiba as if he was kidding.

"You're joking, right? Hinata would never hug Neji, and Neji would never allow him to," Naruto shrugged it off, then went back to eating his noodles. That wasn't so bad or disturbing for him.

"Naruto, it gets worse," Kiba said. Naruto nodded, telling him to go on.

"Well, um, they said something and then out of nowhere, I lie to you not…Neji kissed Hinata on the cheek," Kiba said slowly. This time Naruto stopped chewing all together and swallowed the noodles he had in his mouth.

"Neji did what?" Naruto asked, shocked.

"He kissed her on the cheek," Kiba repeated. Akamaru barked in confimination. Naruto racked his brains, trying to find an explanation to this. Neji would never do that and Hinata would never let him. There **had **to be a logical explanation for this. Suddenly, something clicked in Naruto's mind and he snapped his fingers.

"No big deal, Kiba," Naruto said, continuing to eat.

"What do you mean no big deal? I didn't tell you what happened afterwards," Kiba said. Naruto laughed.

"Dude, they're **cousins**! I'm pretty sure you've kissed your cousin on the cheek at least once or twice. I mean sure, it's a little odd because it's Neji and Hinata but they're still cousins so it's not it's something totally out of the blue. Calm down dude," Naruto shrugged it off. He started chewing again.

"Naruto, you're not listening to me. This is **Neji **and **Hinata**. Neji doesn't even like the branch of family that Hinata was born into and she's probably terrified of Neji because he obviously has more power than her. You didn't give me a chance to tell you what happened aft-damnnit, will you stop eating!" Kiba said furiously. He swiped Naruto's bowl off the table. At first, Naruto glared at him, then seeing the serious look on Kiba's face, he had bad feeling that he was about to hear something crazy.

"After Neji kissed her on the cheek, Hinata said something, then Neji did, and the next thing I saw, they kissed! On the lips! Not the cheek! The **lips**!" Kiba told. Naruto's mouth dropped open, trying to picture that.

"Please tell me you're joking," Naruto asked in a monotone voice. Kiba shook his head and so did Akamaru.

"Naruto, I lie to you not. They locked lips and then I just left. I couldn't take it," Kiba explained. Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

"But-but that couldn't have happened! They're cousins! Kiss on the cheek I understand but not the lips! There's no way that happened! Neji and Hinata would never kiss each other! Especially on the lips!" Naruto tried to convince himself but he knew Kiba wouldn't lie to him. Now **that **was disturbing.

"Dude, what do we do?" Kiba asked.

"Is there anything we can do? I mean, is it legal for cousins to date?" Naruto asked, his mind still boggled. Kiba shrugged.

"Beats me. I don't know. You think we should confront them?" Kiba asked.

"Are you crazy? No! Neji would kill us if he found out that we knew!" Naruto said.

"Then what do we do?" Kiba asked again. Naruto scratched his head, thinking of a solution to this rather odd predicament. Finally, he snapped his fingers.

"We'll get Neji to admit to it. At the picnic tomorrow! We'll slowly hint to it and eventually he will get that we know and then maybe he'll confess," Naruto explained.

"And if that doesn't work?" Kiba asked.

"Easy…we'll make him jealous. Me or you can flirt with Hinata or something and eventually he's bound to get mad and blow their cover!" Naruto said. He was shocked that he was actually coming up with good ideas. Kiba nodded, liking this idea.

_Wow, this is getting really heavy really fast! Some people just need to mind their own business don't they? Oh well. We're not done yet folks! There's still way more misunderstandings to be tossed around and more gossip to be spread. In the next chapter, Kiba and Naruto try out both plans while Sakura, Ino and Tenten try out their own plan! Chaos is calling! _

_Please rate and review!_


	7. Awkward Picnic

Chapter 7:

Awkward Picnic

_Flashback:_

_With Lee and Tenten:_

"_You mean it?! She said that?!" Lee asked excitedly. Tenten nodded her head happily._

"_That's right. We were all walking around yesterday and Minji said that she would really like you more if she saw you exercise in front of her," Tenten lied. That was the best lie she could come up with for the time being. Lee stood up, proud._

"_Then that is what I shall do at the picnic! I will not eat until I have done 100 push- ups with Minji on my own back! If I don't succeed, it'll be 100 laps around-"_

"_Alright, Lee. I get it," Tenten interrupted him. Lee cheered and Tenten smiled._

_With Choji and Ino:_

"_What did Minji say about me?" Choji asked excitedly. He was practically jumping out of his seat at Ino's house.  
"Minji said that you're an okay guy. But she's really into guys who aren't afraid to pig out," Ino lied. She could see the stars immediately form in Choji's eyes and only for a split second thought that maybe this was a bad idea._

"_Pig out?! That's like my life's work! I'm the boss at that!" Choji said, then he almost instantly stuffed down a whole bag of chips, "Oh, it's on!"_

_With Sakura and Naruto:_

"_Minji likes guys who can come up with a good joke? Really?!" Naruto asked, yet again. Sakura nodded her head, smiling. Naruto cheered._

"_Wooohhhoooo!" he yelled, "That's totally up my alley! Thank you, Sakura! You know, for a minute there I thought you were just pulling my leg but that's amazing! Just watch! Soon, Minji will be all over me! BELIEVE IT!"_

_End of Flashback_

Lee, Naruto, and Choji all looked very determined as they made their way to the picnic area in the park. The park was huge, but they had picked the most isolated place to have it so they could have that area all to themselves. When the three boys got there, everybody else but the sand kids were already there. They all sat down, Naruto on the right of Minji (totally pushing Sasuke out of the way), Lee sat on her right (Moving Neji in the process) and Choji sat next to Lee. Naruto looked at Neji and had to force himself to just smile and wave, immediately remembering what he and Kiba had discussed. Man, this was going to be a hard day for him, trying to win over Minji while at the same time trying to make Neji jealous and blow his cover…that's complicated.

"Should we start eating or should we wait for the sand kids to get here?" Ino asked.

"Well, Ino pig, if you're too impatient to wait, you can go ahead and eat," Sakura smirked. Ino glared at her but Sakura didn't care, for Sakura had stolen the spot next to Sasuke before Ino could get to him. Tenten was sitting next to Neji, who in her eyes, had yet to notice that she was even there, even thought Neji was well aware of who was sitting next to him. Hinata was sitting next to Kiba, and Ino was stuck sitting next to Shikamaru, who sighed in boredom.

"Why do you guys keep inviting these sand kids? They're such a drag," Shikamaru complained.

"What was that, pretty boy?" They heard Temari's voice ask from behind him. Shikamaru sighed.

"Whatever," he sighed. Minji pushed Lee to the side, making room for Gaara to sit next to her.

_Well, at least she's not focused on Neji, _Tenten thought happily to herself. Thinking of Neji, she turned to look at him and realized that he didn't seem quite like himself. Usually, he would be trying to meditate or having a staring contest with Lee, but he was looking at the ground and his hands were balled into two tight fists. Tenten looked over at Hinata was also looking at the ground but was playing with her fingers. Tenten remembered them doing something quite similar the night they came over for Minji's party. What the hell was going on? Should she ask?

"Hi, Gaara!" Minji smiled as she once again managed to hug Gaara. This time, Gaara just let her, seeing as she wasn't intending on stopping anytime soon. He looked to the side and gave a heavy sigh. Temari closed her eyes and rolled them in irritation. Third time Minji got away with hugging Gaara, and it was pissing her off big time.

"Well, Ino pig, everybody is here now, you can chow down," Sakura laughed.

"You all know I get first dibs! Hey Minji, watch how fast I chow down on this bag of chips I bought personally for myself!" Choji shouted. Minji, who's attention had been pulled away from something that Naruto was saying, looked over at Choji who had managed to gobble the whole bag down without so much as a break. Minji smiled and clapped for him.

"Wow, Choji! That was super fast! You can really eat," Minji complimented. Choji went red in the face, but smiled in victory. Minji turned to Gaara.

"So, Gaara-"

"That was nothing, Minji! Watch as I, Lee, do 100 laps around the tree in less that 6 minutes!" Lee yelled, getting Minji's attention this time. He started running and soon Minji lost interest and turned back to Gaara.

"Sorry about that. So-"

"Hey, Minji. Want to hear this amazing joke that I heard from Kakashi yesterday?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, if you heard it from my uncle, I think it would be best if you didn't repeat it," Minji laughed. While Minji was distracted with Naruto, Sakura turned to Sasuke.

"So, Sasuke, I noticed that you didn't answer any of my texts yesterday…," Sakura started.

"I noticed that somehow you had my phone number yesterday too," Sasuke replied, chewing on a sandwich.

"Did I forget to tell you? Naruto gave it to me" Sakura lied, "Anyway, I was hoping that maybe after this picnic, we could go spent some time together at my house?"

"But then that would be me seeing you all day," Sasuke said. Sakura sighed quietly. Even without Minji talking to him, he was still hard to get through to. Tenten messed with her fingers like Hinata did for a moment, until she felt somebody push her shoulder, she turned to find Ino.

"Tenten what are you waiting for?" Ino whispered to her, "Neji is sitting right next to you. Start talking now before Minji finishes with Naruto, if she ever does that is." Tenten nodded, took a deep breath, and lightly pulled on Neji's sleeve. Neji blinked and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked.

"I was about to ask you that" Tenten said, "You're acting funny and so is Hinata…I think. Is something wrong?"

"A lot of things are wrong but now is not the time nor the place to discuss them," Neji replied.

"So something is wrong?" Tenten asked, Neji looked at her and she laughed, "Right. Stupid question. Forget I asked." Neji shook his head and turned to Lee who had found had taken it upon himself to put Minji on his back and do 500 push ups without stopping. He couldn't tell if Minji was enjoying it or just being nice and letting him get away with it. Carefully, he looked over at his cousin to see what she was doing, and found that she had struck up a conversation with Kiba, who was a little too close for comfort in Neji's opinion. He brushed it off, remembering that she was Kiba's team mate so it's not like it wasn't normal. Ino tapped Tenten on the shoulder.

"That was the best you could do? You had all that time to talk to him and that was the best you could do?" Ino asked her. Tenten shrugged.

"I'm trying okay? I'm not used to this like you are with your team mates. Most of the time when Neji and I are talking, it's usually about action strategies and plans and stuff like that."

"Oh, you mean boring stuff that's never going to change how Neji sees you? Yeah, that'll work," Ino said sarcastically.

"I don't see you trying to talk to Sasuke," Tenten pointed out.

"I will have you know that I have tried, missy. But unfortunately, just like Sakura, I was shot down rather quickly. Still recovering from it," Ino said, her nose in the air as if it didn't bother her. Meanwhile on the other side of the picnic…

"So, Hinata, I noticed that you and Neji haven't been speaking to each other as of late. Something wrong?" Kiba asked. Hinata went red in the face but quickly tried to shake it off. Kiba was waiting for this moment of opportunity. He didn't know how, but he had managed to catch the face that Neji had made when he saw how close he was sitting to Hinata, and it was rare to see Neji make a face that was out of character for him. Knowing that Neji was still secretly paying attention to what was going on with his cousin, Kiba decided that nowm since they had grabbed Neji's other side of attention, was the perfect moment to start with the real stuff.

"Oh? That's um…nothing out of the ordinary…," Hinata replied slowly.

"You sure? I mean don't get me wrong, you too barely talk to one another as it is, but like you two didn't even show up at the same time. Don't you two live in the same area?" Kiba asked.

"Um..Neji got up before I did and just left," Hinata said.

"Isn't that like against the rules or something? Isn't he supposed to be your guard or something like that? That seems kind of stupid that he left without you…and wait, you got here before he did, didn't you?" Kiba asked.

"Kiba…don't insult Neji like that," Hinata said, not looking at him. Kiba couldn't tell if Hinata could also tell that they had grabbed Neji's other side of attention but he had a feeling that she could.

"I didn't insult him," Kiba said. Hinata nodded slowly.

"You called one of his actions…stupid…Neji's a genius…so that was…technically an insult," Hinata explained. Kiba rolled his eyes. This family was messed up.

"Oh, what? I'm not allowed to insult the genius? That's all he does 24/7," Kiba snorted. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"He's still my family, Kiba. That's rude to me," Hinata said, looking up at him with an expression Kiba had never seen cross her face before. Was it anger? Irritation? He wasn't sure.

"Sorry," Kiba said, and Hinata's face softened back to her regular face.

"Thank you. It's nothing against you, it's just that I don't Neji to hear you and then next thing you know, you and he are arguing," Hinata said quickly. Kiba nodded in agreement. He wasn't sure if he actually wanted that…at least not yet. He mentally reminded himself to kick Naruto for totally bailing out on the plan to flirt with Minji with his lame ass jokes. He decided to lighten the conversation up a bit.

"So, are you and your cousin close? I mean, would you cry if he died?" Kiba asked.

"Of course, he's family…unfortunately, we're not as close as you would expect cousins to be, and even that isn't high…at least not anymore," Hinata sighed. Kiba mentally disagreed with Hinata, especially not with what he saw the other day. In fact, he would say that they were **too **close. Then he realized what Hinata had said.

"What do you mean 'not anymore'?" Kiba asked. Hinata blushed a little and it gave Kiba cold feeling.

"Neji and I were closer when we were younger…we used to hang out with each other…," Hinata trailed off, her face saddening. So much for lightening the conversation.

" What happened?" Kiba asked.

"Neji's father was killed and Neji has hated anyone associated with the main branch since then, and that includes me. Neji only tolerates me because he has to watch over me still so he's kind of forced to be around me…oh! Don't tell anyone I told you that! I'm not supposed to talk about that!" Hinata realized, putting her face in her coat. Kiba laughed.

"No problem, Hinata. I've kept secrets since first grade!" Kiba laughed, mentally patting himself on the shoulder. He had some dirt on Neji now, and he was totally aware that they had now caught Neji's full attention and he was glaring at Hinata with a well over the years trained look of hatred.

_Damn, that dude needs to lighten up. It's not she said anything bad about his dad…he's crazy, how the hell can Hinata kiss someone who probably secretly wants to kill he right now just for being in the branch that killed his dad? He's crazy,_Kiba thought with disgust. This picnic wasn't going so well.

_I pictured this chapter a little bit different but I guess this is fine. You think Kiba was doing the right thing? Think Tenten should totally step up her game? And what's up with Gaara letting Minji hug him? Crazy stuff…_

_Please rate and Review! Also, read my Fruits Basket story!_


	8. Serious Girl Talk

Chapter 8:

Serious Girl Talk

Minji was so confused when suddenly, all the girls just got up and walked down the hill away from the boys. Minji was actually having a conversation with Neji when Gaara wasn't answering when she noticed that they had all walked. After telling Lee that she didn't want a piggyback ride, telling Choji that he was grossing her out, and telling Naruto that she heard enough jokes, she picked herself up and after apologizing to Neji for interrupting him, went down the hill. For a minute, Minji couldn't spot them. When she did, she found them under a huge tree, with two of them sitting in it. Instead of joining them like she had planned, she hid behind the closest bush. From the looks of it, it looked like they hadn't planned on including her in on this talk. But leaving her all alone with all those boys? That wasn't cool. She got comfortable and listened in on the conversation.

"Guys, this isn't working," Tenten sighed heavily.

"I know. Naruto, Choji, and Lee are doing a horrible job at distracting," Ino complained.

_Distracting? From what? _Minji thought.

"Ino, you can't even complain. You didn't even talk to Sasuke. At least he finally gave in to me when I talked to him for the third time," Sakura said.

"Billboard forehead!" Ino said.

"Ino pig!" Sakura shot back.

"Guys! Guys! Knock it off, this isn't helping," Temari ordered. Both girls fell silent.

"Nothing is helping. Our whole plan today was to get somewhere and we all went absolutely nowhere," Tenten said.

"Tenten, you are in no place to complain," Ino huffed.

"Why's that?" Tenten asked. Ino jumped down from the tree.

"Tenten, you had this whole opportunity to talk to Neji while Minji was busy with the other boys and you said what? Three sentences?" Ino asked.

"Hey, hey, you're not in my team so you don't know how it works. If Neji looks pissed, even Lee doesn't bother him. It's best to leave him alone when he's like that. Even Gai-sensei wouldn't dare bother him when he looks like he's ready to lash out on the first person that says something wrong to him," Tenten explained.

"Psh! Excuses, excuses," Sakura laughed.

"Speaking of the Hyuuga people, Hinata," Temari smiled. Hinata went red in the face and she didn't know what Temari was talking about.

"What…are you talking about?" Hinata asked shyly.

"You know what I'm talking about. You and Kiba seemed to be getting a bit cozy where you two were sitting," Temari said, grinning as she said it. The rest of the girls began to smile and moved closer to Hinata, waiting for her to explain.

"Huh? We…were just…talking is all…although…," Hinata trailed off.

"Although?" Ino urged on.

"Kiba was…a little too close…for comfort I mean," Hinata went red in the face again.

"I don't know you guys looked fine to me. So what were you talking about?" Temari asked.

"Um…he asked why Neji and I looked…um…odd, I guess," Hinata replied.

"Well, not to make you feel uncomfortable but you two did. This is the second time actually. You both looked weird at the sleepover and when you arrived today, well, you looked a little depressed and Neji looked furious," Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah…that's what Kiba said…," Hinata said.

"Why were you upset?" Temari asked. Hinata shook her head.

"I'm not…really supposed…to talk about it…Kiba kept asking questions about Neji and I…and our family…and at some point in the conversation…I had to shush him," Hinata explained, looking down.

"Why did you have to shush him?" Ino asked.

"Um…well…you see…he had sort of…insulted Neji by calling him stupid…and I was aware that even though he wasn't looking…Neji could hear what was being said…" Hinata replied, " I didn't want them to fight…so I told him not to talk about Neji…,"

"Well yeah, I mean, come on, is Kiba stupid himself? You don't call Neji stupid, that's one of the biggest insults to say about Neji," Tenten said.

"Damn, is Kiba nosy or something? Why was he so interested in your family? He needs to mind his business if you ask me," Ino huffed.

"Well that was a bummer. Okay, back to the real reason why we all left. Minji," Sakura said.

_Man, what is up with these girls? Do they hate me or something? _Minji asked in her head. She didn't give them a reason to. Well, all except for Tenten but that didn't count because she can't step up to the game.

"Guys how come we made up this stupid plan and it failed to work? I mean come on, even with Naruto, Choji and even Lee distracting her, she still managed to flirt with our boys," Ino complained.

"I know. A few minutes before we left, I saw that she was talking to Neji and they were actually having a nice conversation. You saw how mine only last about 10 seconds. But he was pissed like I said earlier," Tenten defended herself.

"He didn't look so pissed when he was talking to Minji. In fact, if I saw it correctly, I recall him smiling at her a couple of times. Let's face it, just like at the sleepover, she was the life of the picnic," Temari said.

"Maybe she's just better at this than the rest of us are," Sakura concluded.

"Why don't you guys…um…" Hinata said.

"What?" they all asked.

"Um…why don't you guys just…um…maybe, perhaps…ask Minji on advice? On how to get the boys?" Hinata asked slowly. At first, it seemed like all the girls were ready to laugh in her face, but then they narrowed their eyebrows and actually thought about it.

"You know what? That actually sounds like a good idea," Sakura said.

"Yeah. I mean, if she's good at this, maybe she can help us," Ino said.

"Yeah, too bad we're aiming for the same boys she is," Tenten reminded them.

"Who doesn't like a little competition in their lives?" Temari asked. They all nodded.

"Come on, let's go talk to Minji. I'm sure she's having a hard time trying to deal with all those boys," Sakura said. They got up to go back to the picnic while Minji sat at the bush, both mad and amused.

_These girls are pathetic, _Minji thought, _How are they going to sit here and talk bad about me, then go back to the picnic and try to make me give them advice about boys? It's not my fault I have an uncle who's perverted and taught me everything I know. They all just need to use some different tactics. I mean, gosh, aren't these boys their team mates? They should be past this stage already… I'll help them alright. But they're still not going to win against me. I'm the flirt master, and pretty soon all those girls who don't like me, excluding Hinata, will have wished that they had never talked bad about me._

_Well, damn. Talk about girl on girl crime. This is totally getting out of hand. Not to mention the girls still think that she was making out with Sasuke yesterday. And what about Kiba? He better watch where he's stepping because he's walking on thin ice with Neji and he doesn't even know it. What kind of advice is Minji going to give? Stay tuned._

_Please rate and review!_


	9. An Innocent Game Gone Wrong

Chapter 9:

An Innocent Game Gone Wrong

"Mind telling us what the hell we're all out here for?" Shikamru complained as he yawned. They had all left after the picnic but later that day, when the sun had set and it was dark out, Sakura had called everyone back to the park, and she was surprised that even the sand kids had gotten the message.

"You must've went to bed early because the sun like almost literally just went down. You guys forgot! Remember at the picnic how we all said we were going to play a night game when it got dark? Well, it's dark out!" Sakura said.

"Oh yeah! We were going to play manhunt!" Naruto remembered. Everyone else shook their heads, remembering as well.

"Now, are we playing as teams, or are we all going solo?" Naruto asked.

"I say we play boys against girls!" Choji said.

"Why would we do that? You boys completely out number us girls," Tenten pointed out.

"We only outnumber you by four," Kankuro said.

"Then how about I go over there with the girls? I'm good at being caught, not catching," Choji whined.

"Yeah, Choji, you be on the girls' side so they can stop complaining," Shikamaru said. Choji moved towards the girls.  
"Don't worry, Choji, we'll win," Ino said.

"Please. Have you forgotten that I have my sharigan? You'll be lucky if I actually miss you," Sasuke spoke up. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy this game. Even Neji smirked so this couldn't be all that bad.

"Shino, you go to the girls' side too," Lee said.

"Why?" Shino asked.

"So they can actually have a chance at winning," Kiba laughed. Akamaru grinned.

"Fine, be that way. But first, we need to set up some rules before these boys cheat!" Ino said.

"The only rule is no fighting. If you get caught, don't go into battle, you're just caught. You can escape but only if you know how," Minji said. They all nodded.

"The jail cell is that opening in the park we were in earlier. No babysitting," Naruto said.

"Anything goes, which means Sasuke, you can use your Sharigan, Neji, Hinata, you can use your eye thingy, and Gaara, you can use your sand," Temari said. Sasuke smiled.

"Oh, this is actually not going to be a drag," Shikamaru smiled, knowing he was going to be able to use his shadow jutsu.

"Now boys, count to 50, no leaving the village. Ready, go," Minji said. The girls jumped away along with Shino and Choji as the rest of the boys counted. When they were finished, the girls were long gone. They all looked at each other.

"We have a plan," Naruto said.

"Way ahead of you," Kankuro said.

"Okay, Neji, use your Byakgan (_sorry I know I spelled it wrong) _and find their locations," Lee said. Neji did it, and told them where each other them were.

"Good. Gaara, use your sand as a map for us to scope them out," Kankuro said. Gaara released his sand in the directions that Neji had pointed out.

"Sasuke, you got your Sharigan, and I'm going to send each o my clones in the directions of the sand," Naruto said. Everybody nodded and then ran in a different direction.

_Sorry I had to cut this chapter short but I can promise you that the next few chapters are going to take place all in this one night. It's going to be a long night and the boys chasing after the girls? This should be interesting!_

_Please rate and review!_


	10. Do You Remember the Time?

Chapter 10:

Do You Remember the Time?

Shikamaru could sense someone, but he couldn't tell who. He was in an alley, looking around for any target. Suddenly a dumpster fell over but before the culprit could get away, Shikamaru caught its shadow using his Shadow jutsu. He walked with the shadow until he got out of the alley and saw that he had captured none other than Ino.

"That's cheating!" Ino complained.

"Is not. Looks like I caught somebody pretty early. How do you feel being a loser?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know, why don't you ask yourself?" Ino asked.

"Huh?" Shikamaru said. Before he could do anything, Ino used her mind control jutsu to stop his jutsu, swung back into her own body, and ran off.

"Why you little-" Shikamaru smirked as he ran after her. Ino jumped on a rooftop and Shikamaru followed her. They hopped from rooftop to rooftop, Shikamaru trying to catch Ino.

"I must say, I didn't see that coming," Shikamaru said as he followed her.

"Really? That's stupid, you're smarter than that," Ino chuckled.

"Oh really now? I thought I was lazy according to your standards," Shikamaru said.

"I guess you're both then," Ino smirked as she jumped further. Shikamaru did the same. This went on for a few minutes until Ino jumped to the ground and began running. She ran around corners, up into trees and down streets but she couldn't shake Shikamaru.

"Damn, Shikamaru, why don't you go after somebody else?" Ino complained angrily.

"Why would I blindly go looking for another girl when I have one right in front of me? That's a waste of energy. Why? Is somebody getting tired?" Shikamaru mocked her. He dodged a rock that Ino had managed to pick up and throw at him.

"Not even close. I'm just saying that for the record, we've passed at least 2 girls that I'm sure you saw while we were running through the trees," Ino explained.

"I was focused on you so I didn't catch'em," Shikamaru said.

"Focused on me, huh? If you weren't chasing me, that would've sounded romantic," Ino said.

"Did you want it to?" Shikamaru asked playfully.

"Ew! You're not Sasuke so no!" Ino fake puked. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I don't see why you girls are so interested in him. All he does is ignore you all day long," Shikamaru huffed.

"That's what makes him cool," Ino defened Sasuke.

"So if I ignored you all day, that would make me cool?" Shikamaru asked, not understanding.

"No, it wouldn't. Besides, you can't ignore me, you're my team mate," Ino said.

"Sasuke is Sakura's team mate and he seems to ignore her all day," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Leave Sasuke alone! What are you, jealous or something?!" Ino asked, laughing.

"I am actually," Shikamaru mumbled. He didn't mean for it to be loud, but he was close enough to Ino that heard it. She stopped so suddenly that Shikamaru ran past her and stopped, noticing he did. He turned around.

"What's the matter? Out of breath?" Shikamaru smirked.

"You're jealous of Sasuke?" Ino asked. His smirk disappeared.

"What?" he asked.

"You just said it. You're jealous of him?" Ino asked. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Why?" Ino asked. A moment passed before Shikamaru finally spoke up, feeling uncomfortable.

"Because" he started, "Sasuke doesn't do anything and yet he's fawned over like a celebrity or something. I mean I know I don't do anything either but that kid literally is just mean to people who try and help him and yet all you girls are in love with him."

"You're mean to people who try to help you. Like me for example," Ino pointed out.

"Yeah but I don't see you fawning over me. I mean, do you see yourself sometimes when you're around Sasuke? It's pathetic," Shikamaru said.

"Well who else do you expect me to admire?" Ino asked, ignoring the insult.

"Well, try your team mates for example" Shikamaru replied, "I know you didn't exactly plan on being in a team with Choji and I, but we always end up saving your ass when you're in trouble and you never once said thank you. All you do is complain that you're not in the team Sasuke is in. That's annoying to hear every day. I mean hell, you already hated me in the academy, but you would think that after becoming team mates, you would lighten up a little. Even I lightened up a little," Shikamaru said.

"Hello! You hated me too!" Ino said.

"I never said I hated you" Shikamaru shook his head, "You just assumed because I got smart with you when you talked to me in that angry voice. In fact if you want to know the truth, I actually had a small crush on you in the academy." Shikamaru covered his mouth, realizing what he just said. Ino stood there for a moment, her mouth opened.

"You-you had a crush on me?" Ino asked. Shikamaru nodded. Now that it was out in the open, he might as well finish it.

"Yup, in fact I even tried to kiss you one day. Remember that day when we were all reading and my book 'accidentally' fell on your head? Well, when I bent down to reach it, I tried to kiss you but you moved, looking for Sasuke and I fell on my forehead. I still have the scar to prove it," Shikamaru explained. Ino didn't say anything, in fact, she was quite shocked.

"Well, do you have a crush on me still?" Ino asked.

"Hell no. My mind has wandered elsewhere. There's another girl I'm interested in," Shikamaru answered. Ino's face dropped, and she didn't know why she felt disappointed to hear that. Then she smiled.

"Well, if that's the case" Ino said, then she hopped into a tree and was off, "Sorry about the forehead bruise! But you're not catching me!" Shikamaru laughed, going after her again, but he had actually lost track of her. He didn't care though. He would chase her just for the fun of the game, even if he didn't have a crush on her anymore.

_Well, how did you all like that? Wasn't that sweet? Just to let you know, there's going to be a lot more chapters like this where it focuses on two people. This is going to be one long night because it takes up a few chapters. So Shikamaru confessed he used to have a crush on Ino, but NOT ANYMORE! Who's his new love interest? You'll have to wait and see! Next chapter features Kankuro and Temari,in a romantic way? Who knows? Me, of course! By the way, I'm not exactly sure who I want to be together by the end of this story, so send your suggestions in my inbox or your reviews, whichever is better for you! _

_Please rate and review!_

_Next Chapter : Kankuro and Temari!_


	11. Reality Check

Chapter 11:

Reality Check

"Damnnit! I hate you, Kankuro!" Temari complained as she tried to escape from the puppet that Kankuro had lashed out on her. She didn't even see it coming, it just randomly appeared and before she had time to act, it caught her in a choke hold. Temari was a little disappointed. She didn't want to be caught by her own team mate, at least not this one. But hell, she would be scared out of her living mind if Gaara had caught her. Maybe when they were younger, then yeah she would've loved it, but now that she no longer saw him as a romantic interest but as a brother, it got less tempting. But why did Kankuro have to catch her? Why?

"Got you," Kankuro laughed as he appeared from the shadows.

"Ugh! We should've made it a rule that you couldn't use your puppet!" Temari complained.  
"Well, you didn't so too bad" Kankuro said, he ordered his puppet to move and they began to make their way to the jail in the park. It was quiet for a minute, as neither of them knew what to say to each other. After another minute, Kankuro finally spoke up.

"You know you looked really pissed off when I caught you. You're not mad that it was me who drew on your face while you are you?" Kankuro asked.

"No-wait, that was you?!" Temari asked angrily. She made a vow to herself that next time they were training she was going for him and straight for him when it turned to survival mode.

"Oh…well, why did you look so mad?" Kankuro asked.

"I don't really know. I mean, to me, the game is still early and I didn't expect to be caught so early into it. Especially not by you," Temari shrugged.

"What's wrong with me?" Kankuro pretended to sound hurt.

"You're my team mate, so that makes it corny. If I was going to be caught, I would've liked it if it was from somebody else," Temari smirked.

"Like who? Trust me, you don't want Gaara to catch you," Kankuro laughed.

"Would've preferred him over you any day," Temari laughed. Kankuro's laughter died almost instantly and it didn't take long for Temari to notice.

"What's wrong with you?" Temari asked.

"You're still into him?" Kankuro asked.

"Huh?" Temari asked. She was confused now. What was he talking about?

"Gaara. You're still into him?" Kankuro asked, serious now.

"What? No, you idiot and whoever said I was into him to begin with?" Temari laughed.

"You don't have to hide it, Temari. I could tell when we first started training that you had a thing for him," Kankuro sighed.

"Um, excuse me but why would I be attracted to a guy who's possessed by a sand demon?" Temari asked. She didn't understand what had made Kankuro bring all this up, but as of recently, he was dead wrong on the topic, and she needed to straighten it out before he misunderstood anything.

"Listen Kankuro, I don't have a thing for Gaara. He's like a big brother to me and that's so gross," Temari explained.

"Doesn't seem like it," Kankuro said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Temari asked, getting offended. Kankuro took a deep breath before continuing. He knew what he was about to say was going to change the whole look on Temari's face.

"Look, I heard what you and the other girls were talking about at the picnic and I must say it's not cool," Kankuro said. Temari's eyes widened and Kankuro knew that he had hit his target.

"What? You were easedropping?" Temari asked.

"Yes I was" Kankuro said, "But that's beside the point, you guys are mean. I mean, Minji just got here and already you girls are trying to get rid of her or something like that. So what if she kissed Neji and Sasuke. That's her business and you all shouldn't be talking about her as if she's not there. I'm pretty sure she knew wy you all walked down the hill. The only person that tried to defend her was Hinata and you all are basically trying to brainwash her too. If you girls really want the guys you want to look at you, then **do **something about it that doesn't involve Minji. Not to mention she's Kakashi's niece…what did you expect? But some advice to you would be to stop pursuing Gaara in the mix of all this. Your chances are lower than Sakura and Ino's chances at winning over Sasuke," Kankuro explained. Temari just looked at him, shocked. This was one of those rare moments when Kankuro decided to speak his mind and man did he have a lot to say. But he just didn't understand. Temari wasn't in on it because she had a crush on Gaara, in fact, she just wanted Gaara to treat her the way he let Minji treat him. They're practically family, so why couldn't **she **hug him? That was all she was looking for. Affection, but not the romantic kind, but thinking about explaining that to Kankuro at the moment seemed impossible, so she decided to keep her mouth shut.

_And this chapter is finished! Sorry it took me so long to update! I was busy and then I kept falling asleep when I had the chance to write. So what do you think? Kankuro had a whole bunch to say to Temari on the way to the game jail. Do you think he was right or did he misunderstand Temari's efforts? Anyway, the next chaoter features Naruto and Hinata! This should be fun!_


	12. Guess What?

Chapter 12:

Guess What?

Hinata could feel the blush rushing to her cheeks and Naruto wasn't even in front of her, he was behind her, chasing him. He almost caught her by surprise but she had managed to spot his fake clone in time to see the real him coming from the front and jumped away. They were now jumping through trees and Naruto was hot on her trail. She smiled slightly to herself though. She liked that Naruto had found her and not somebody else. Maybe this was the moment she was waiting for, even if it wasn't in the setting that she had pictured in her mind.

"No point in running, Hinata! I'm going to catch you!" Naruto shouted. Hinata kept going, not knowing what to say back to him. It didn't matter what she said because she knew in the end, she wouldn't be able to finish her sentence. He just made her so nervous! Hinata sort of wished that for once she could talk to Naruto like she talks to Neji, without stuttering all the time and tripping over her words. It was so much easier to talk to Neji, even if he didn't particularly like her.

"Getting tired, yet?! Because I'm not!' Naruto laughed. Hinata chuckled to herself. Naruto had so much courage and bravery. It was no wonder that he got himself into trouble a lot. He just liked to express what he felt…if only she could do the same without passing out or running away before finishing.

"I almost got you!" Naruto said, and Hinata noticed that his voice was getting closer, a lot closer. He **was** about to catch her. But if he touched her, Hinata knew that she would probably go extremely red in the face and probably pass out. But she had to say something. Something funny? Amusing? Casual?

She felt a tug on her jacket but right before Naruto could get a good grip, Hinata suddenly ducked and Naruto tripped over her and fell face first into the grass. He looked up, surprised that he had missed her. But what really surprised him was when he looked up and saw that Hinata…was laughing.

"You missed," Hinata said softly, laughing again. Hinata mentally patted herself on the back. She said something, even though her red face could slide for her laughing. It was pretty funny though, seeing Naruto fly over her and land on the ground.

"That was fast! I swore I had you! Nice duck!" Naruto complimented.

"Oh…um…thank you…Naruto," Hinata said. Oh no, here comes the stuttering and the slow talking.

"Could you be a little nicer next time, though? That fall really hurt," Naruto laughed and Hinata chuckled. This was good so far, this was good, she was doing a good job.

"So you going to start running again or you going to let me catch you?" Naruto asked, already poised to pounce.

"Um..actually, Naruto-ah!" Hinata jumped when Naruto suddenly sprang into the air to grab her but yet again, missed. She took off running.

_Come on, Hinata! You can do this! This is the perfect opportunity! _Hinata shouted in her head. She kept running as Naruto continued to chase her, determined t catch her.

"Um..Naruto?" Hinata asked, half looking back and half looking forward.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked, hoping she was admitting defeat so he didn't have to run anymore.

"Um…there's something…I've been meaning…to tell…you," Hinata said.

"Tell me?" Naruto asked. His mind immediately went back to what Kiba had told him about Neji and Hinata kissing on the roof.

_Oh no! She's not about to confirm it, is she?! Oh no! _Naruto could feel his stomach churn, but he continued to run.

"Well…it's just that…um…you're a…really good friend and…," Hinata trailed off.

_Come on, you can do this! You can do this! _Hinata cheered herself on in her head.

_Oh no! Please don't say it! Don't say it! _Naruto thought frantically.

"And I wanted you to know….that…I like…I like…" Hinata repeated herself a few times.

_You got this! _Hinata said.

_Don't do it! _Naruto screamed in his head. Hinata closed her eyes, took a deep breath and…

"RAMEN!" Hinata suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" Naruto said.

_WHAT?! _Hinata shouted her in her brain.

"I like Ramen! You've been eating it so much I decided to try it and I like it! Thank you!" Hinata smiled.

"Oh…well, you're welcome," Naruto said, then he laughed, "You know for a minute there, I thought you were going to say that you liked Neji."

"Huh? Why…would I say that?" Hinata asked, confused. Naruto shook his head in amusement.

"It's nothing really. It's just a few days ago, Kiba saw you and Neji on a roof and he **swore **that he saw you two kissing. Isn't that hilarious?! I mean you and Neji? Kissing? On the lips? That's a riot!" Naruto actually stopped running because he was laughing so hard. Meanwhile Hinata had also stopped running when she heard what he had said. Her eyes widened in fear.

_Oh no! _she thought frantically, _Kiba saw us kiss! How did we not see him?! How did we not see him?! But the kiss was by accident! But like Neji said, from anybody else's point of view it would look real! Oh no! Kiba saw us kiss and he told Naruto?! Oh no, what if he told everyone?! What if it gets back to our family that we kissed and it wasn't my birthday?! I've got to talk to Neji! Pronto! Oh no! This is bad! _

Naruto had finished laughing and wiped his eyes.

"Pretty funny huh?...Hinata?" Naruto asked, realizing that she was gone.

_That's it for this chapter, folks! Two chapters in one day, let's go! Poor Hinata, Naruto just couldn't keep his mouth shut. Now Hinata is going to go tell Neji. What'll happen? This is bad. Stay tuned! The next chapter features Kiba and Tenten, and Kiba just keeps finding out more and more secrets! Here's what's happened in case you're confused on who's captured:_

_Ino escaped from Shikamaru._

_Temari got captured by Kankuro._

_Hinata escaped from Naruto._

_Please rate and review! This is getting spicy!_


	13. But I Thought

Chapter 13

But I Thought…

_Damn the Akamaru! He just __**had **__to accidentally look down and see me! _Tenten thought angrily as she ran. Thanks to Akamaru looking down, he and Kiba had spotted her and now she was running from them.

_I was kind of hoping that Neji would've found me but I guess I'll settle for this, _Tenten thought with a sigh.

"Come on, Tenten! Stop running, you know you can't out run me and Akamaru!" Kiba laughed.

"You haven't caught me yet so obviously I can!" Tenten shouted back. Sensing an obstacle approaching her way, she turned back around in time to dodge a tree that she was just about to run into…but she didn't dodge it fast enough. Her foot had gotten caught in one of the pulled up roots and she fell on her face.

"Ow…" Tenten sadi, rubbing her face. She felt another presence and sighed. Kiba and Akamaru had caught her.

"Go ahead. I'm caught," Tenten said.

"Hey, are you okay? That looked like a nasty fall," Kiba said. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I'm fine…I just cut my cheek is all, no biggie," Tenten laughed.

"Here, let me help you up," Kiba said.

"Is this your way of capturing me?" Tenten asked.

"No, but if you don't get up it will be," Kiba laughed. Tenten took his outstretched hand and Kiba pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks, Kiba," Tenten smiled.

"You're welcome. It's a good thing I caught you, now you can go get a band aid or something from Temari. I heard she got caught too," Kiba explained.

"Actually, I got caught by the tree and the tree wasn't even playing," Tenten laughed along with Kiba. They started walking towards the jail and as they did, they laughed and smiled and basically had a good time.

"This is really relaxing. Much better than what I go through every day with my team," Kiba said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"Look at who's in my team. I have the shy as hell Hinata, and the serious Shino. We barely ever have a real good laugh unless we're with our sensei. So it's kind of nice to be here right now," Kiba explained.

"I'm sure it's not all that bad," Tenten said.

"So what about your team? I'm sure Neji and Lee are always at each other's throats," Kiba laughed.

"Not all the time. That usually happens when Lee decides that during training, he's going to try and sneak up on Neji to tackle him…it never works," Tenten said.

"Why's that?" Kiba asked, "I mean Lee is extremely fast."

"Yeah but Neji has like 360 degrees vision so there's no way Lee could get him no matter how fast he is," Tenten laughed.

"With every vision comes a blind spot, you know," Kiba informed.

"Well, Lee has yet to find it," Tenten said. They both laughed.

"Why doesn't he just ask Hinata? I'm pretty sure she knows where his blind spot is," Kiba said.

"Neji and Hinata don't really talk like that so I'm sure even if he did ask her, she wouldn't know," Tenten said.

_They talk a lot more than you know, _Kiba thought sadly. He really regretted ever seeing their private moment but now that he had seen it, he couldn't get it out of his head. In fact, during the game, he was actually hoping to find Hinata so he could confront her about it but in the end he found Tenten, which wasn't bad it just wasn't what he was aiming for. Kiba decided to rear in another direction.

"So how is Neji, anyway? He's a pain in the ass in the group isn't he?" Kiba asked. Tenten shook her head.

"No. The pain in the ass is Lee because he doesn't know when to quit. But I guess that's what makes Lee himself. I mean he's training like all day long every day and when we go on missions, he's always more excited than Neji and I. Not to mention he just loves Gai-sensei so that only amps up his pride and energy" Tenten explained with a smile that went unnoticed to Kiba.

"Oh…sounds to me like somebody has a crush on Lee," Kiba laughed.

"What? Are you crazy? I like Neji, not Lee," Tenten smirked, then just as fast she covered her mouth, realizing what she had just said. Kiba heard it too and both of them stopped walking.

"Whoa, what?" Kiba asked. Tenten shook her head.

"Nothing. You heard nothing," Tenten tried to sway him in another direction.

"You like Neji?" Kiba asked.

"I didn't say that. I said I didn't like Lee," Tenten defended herself.

"Yeah because you like Neji," Kiba said.

"Shut up!" Tenten half yelled.

"Why?" Kiba asked. Tenten looked at him.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Why do you like him? He's mean," Kiba said. This was too much for him. Tenten had a crush on asshole Neji? He was starting to wish that it was Lee who she had a crush on.

"Neji's not mean, he just doesn't like to be bothered is all," Tenten defended him. Kiba only rolled his eyes.

"Well he doesn't like you, I'll tell you that," Kiba said. Tenten got mad.

"Oh really? And why's that?" she asked.

_Because he likes his cousin, _Kiba thought but didn't say it out loud. Instead he made up a different excuse.

"Because I'm pretty sure that if he did, he would've had you already. You know Neji doesn't beat around the bush with anything, so if he liked you, he would've been said something," Kiba replied. Tenten opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it, realizing that what he said was right. Neji was one of those people who said whatever the hell he felt even if he knew it would hurt someone else's feelings. That's just how he was. But that still didn't give Kiba a reason to talk bad about Neji. He knew so little about Neji that he really had no reason to speak bad about him at all.

"You know I'm right, don't you?" Kiba said.

"Whatever. Say what you may," Tenten put her nose in the air and walked ahead of him…too bad they had already reached the jail. Kiba saluted her and went off to find the other girls.

_That's it for this chapter! Do you think Kiba should've said something about that kiss he saw? Do you think Tenten should just confess to Neji already? Well all of this is up to me! Although I still don't have any idea who I want to be together at the end. Remember you can give suggestions! Inbox me or just say it in your review! I'm open to suggestions! Be prepared for this next chapter because the next chapter features Sakura and Lee! Will she escape from him? _

_Please rate and review!_


	14. A Good Suggestion

Chapter 14:

A Good Suggestion

Sakura was loving this game so far. She had yet to be caught and she was happy about that. She thought she was a goner when she saw Shikamaru in her path but he was aiming for someone else so she had sighed in relief. She secretly wished that Sasuke would find her. Maybe during their walk to the jail, he would finally realize his feelings for her and they would kiss and then she could rub it in Ino's face that she was right for Sasuke the whole time and now he finally thought so too. Sakura smiled to herself, loving that thought. She loved it so much that she had actually stopped walking to fantasize about it.

Sasuke seeing her and Sakura letting him catch her.

On the walk to the jail, Sakura would once again admit her feelings to him.

Sasuke would say to her that he'd been thinking for a long time and he finally realized that he loved her too.

Sensing a figure approaching.

Sasuke grabbing her and incasing her in an amazing, lip locked kiss!

Sensing something behind the bushes.

Sasuke saying once again that he loved her-

"Huh?" Sakura said to herself, realizing that she was in fact not alone anymore. She heard more rustle, but it was from a different bush but she couldn't identify which one it was. Another rustle.

"Who's there?" Sakura asked, "Is that you, Sasuke? Naruto? Sasuke?"

There was no response and Sakura only listened.

"Well, Sasuke, if it's you then I would love to kiss you if you just come out," Sakura smiled.

"You really think that Sasuke is going to come out if you say that?!" she heard the voice say from behind her. Sakura turned to find Lee.

"Lee! What are you doing here?! I thought you were Sasuke!" Sakura said, a little mad that it wasn't Sasuke.

"Well, you used a stupid tactic and I just had to give away my location at a comment like that," Lee said.

"Well, you're not catching me!" Sakura smirked. She ran and Lee ran after her.

"Unfortunately, love, there is no way that you can out run me. For I am faster, I am stronger, I am greater, I am-"

"I get it, Lee! But I'm still going to try!" Sakura laughed.

"We shall see about that!" Lee smiled. Sakura chuckled and starting running faster. Lee could've easily caught her by now, he was way faster than her just by looking at her, but he decided that he would let her have some fun. Besides, he enjoyed chasing her, it was like one of his dreams he had had about her lately. He would be chasing her because she would be trying to follow Sasuke and then she would fall, Sasuke of course wouldn't help her, and then he would swoop in and catch her. She would realize her love for him and not Sasuke, and then they would share a deep kiss. Then she would say his name in a warning tone…again…and again…and again…and again…wait-CRASH!

Lee woke up upon hearing his name being called. He looked up and saw Sakura staring at him from above him. He lifted his head slightly but then groaned.

"Ow…what happened?" Lee asked.

"You ran headfirst into a tree, Lee," Sakura said. Lee blinked a couple of times and refocused his vision.

"Wait…you didn't run away?" Lee asked.

"Why would I run when you're unconscious on the ground? That's cheating," Sakura laughed.

"You didn't have to stop. I'm strong and I would've caught up to you in no time," Lee said.

"No, I would've been long gone. You hit that tree pretty hard. You want to sit down for a minute?" Sakura asked.

"But that's interfering in the game! I was just about to catch you until I started fantasizing about our first kiss-"

"Okay, that's enough," Sakura cut him off, rolling her eyes. Lee got up and so did Sakura.

"Continue to run, I want to chase you," Lee said.

"Doesn't this consider me caught? I can't just run," Sakura said.

"I gave you permission to, so go ahead. I did the same thing to Minji," Lee said.

"You were chasing Minji before me?" Sakura asked.

"Sure was. I almost had her too but then I started fantasizing about what our first kiss would be like-"

"Stop right there, bucko" Sakura said, then she hatched an idea, "Hey, if you like Minji so much, how about you forget about me and just move on to her?"

"I can not do that! You, Sakura, are my first love and I intend to keep it that way! Minji might have spunk, bravery, a really cute smile, and a regular sized forehead-"

"You better watch it," Sakura warned.

"But she cannot take away my love which has directed itself on you!" Lee finished, ignoring her comment. Sakura sighed. She had been hoping that Lee would move on to Minji, he looked like he did at the picnic. What a bummer…or was it?

"But Lee! Minji likes you a lot! It would break her heart to find out that you would rather have me over her," Sakura faked a pout.

"Minji might have spunk, bravery, a reall-"

"Yeah, you already said that, but that's going to be mean if you don't like her back. I mean, you already know that my target is Sasuke, so why don't you give Minji a chance?" Sakura asked. Lee began to think about it, and Sakura grinned. She felt bad that Minji might have to suffer from Lee, but as long as his attention wasn't on her, she could care less.

"Very well, then! For you, Sakura, I will take a chance with Minji! In 3 days, I will take Minji out on a date and maybe something will blossom! But if it doesn't, I will continue my quest to your heart-Sakura?" Lee asked. During his little speech, Sakura had managed to get away from him. Lee shook his head, but began to pursue her…in the wrong direction.

_So how does everyone else feel about Sakura just pushing Lee on Minji like that? I would also like to thank the followers for reading the story! You guys are basically the only thing that's keeping this story going because believe me I intended to stop it at like chapter 5 but you guys liked it so much that I couldn't let you guys down! So this chapter was pretty funny, right? Well, stay tuned! The next chapter features Minji and…..stay tuned!_


	15. With Good Reason

_Okay before I start this chapter I would just like to say I love the pairings that you guys are suggesting because I do need help deciding on who should be with whom. I'll tell you that the only couple I will never ever ever ever ever ever EVER let become a couple is Neji and Tenten! Don't ask me why because I truly don't know. It's just that I can't picture those two going out because I never liked Tenten in the anime to begin with and I always loved Neji except for when he whooped Hinata's ass in the Chunin exams. So sorry to all you NejiTen fans but it's just not happening, lol. Anyways, on with the story! I know you guys are going to love this chapter! You'll see a whole new side of someone that you've never seen before!_

Chapter 15:

With Good Reason

Minji was actually quite surprised that she hadn't been caught yet. She saw Temari get caught by Kankuro and she only prayed that Tenten got away from Kiba. She didn't know why they never saw her peeking but that was considered a good thing. Minji didn't really care who she was caught by but if it had to be anybody, she would probably like to be caught by Gaara. Why? Because she wanted to be the first person to escape from him. Listening to Temari complain, she learned that barely anyone escape from Gaara's sand and she wanted to be the first to prove them wrong. Just thinking about how awesome that would be made her run a little bit faster. But she wasn't that sidetracked that she didn't notice that something was moving with her. Was it a person? Maybe just the leaves bothering her? She didn't know. She kept on running but after she kept hearing it, she stopped and looked around.

"Who's there?" Minji called in a cute voice. Something flew past the side of her face but she couldn't identify what it was. Then it flew past her in the other direction and instead of escaping from view, it hit a tree and fell to the ground before slowly moving away. It didn't move away fast enough because Minji had managed to pick up a piece of it before it slithered from her hand. She recognized the feel of it.

"Sand?" Minji asked, and then her brained clicked it all together, "I better move before I get caught." Minji turned to make a run for it before she was caught…and ran smack into the owner of the sand. She fell back onto the ground, and looked up to find Gaara.

"Caught you," Gaara said.

"You know what's funny I was just thinking about how if I were to be caught by you I would try to escape but now that you're here, I don't think that's happening," Minji laughed. She put up both her arms and Gaara gave her a look that clearly stated he didn't understand. Did she really need help getting up? She didn't run into him that hard.

"You caught me. Aren't you supposed to take me prisoner now? Cuff me," Minji laughed. Gaara helped her to her feet but didn't cuff her, although he could've done that with his sand easily, but chose not to. When she got up, for the fourth time since she's been here, she caught him off guard and hugged him. Gaara once again just let her and when she let go, it was then that he decided that he should sand cuff her. They began to walk.

"Hey Gaara, how come you don't talk much? I mean, I know you saw me trying to make conversation with you at the picnic. How come you don't talk a lot?" Minji asked as they walked. Gaara ignored her question and Minji pouted. Quietly, she tried to pull her wrists free but Gaara must've been focused on the sand because it wasn't budging. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"You know, it's funny. You and Neji are sort of the same. You're both really quiet until somebody gets on your nerves enough that you have to retaliate," Minji smiled.

"Don't compare me to the likes of other humans," Gaara suddenly said. Minji's eyes brightened. At least she had gotten him to talk. Now she was going to see how far she could keep it up.

"You know Temari says that she and Kankuro are like family to you. Do you think that as well?" Minji asked.

"I don't have a family, so the thought is useless to even imagine one," Gaara said.

"Well, that's not true. Friends can be considered family. I know that's how I was back where I was living before I came to move in with my uncle," Minji said. A strange expression crossed Gaara's face and Minji couldn't tell if it was disgust that she was still talking, or curiosity.

"I thought you were only visiting your uncle," Gaara said. Minji looked at him, a little confused. Was he actually paying attention to what she was saying? That's got to be a first.

"No, I'm living with him. My family back at the other village wasn't exactly…I guess fitting would work? It was bad so my uncle came and took me for his own," Minji said. Gaara looked the other way, not believing what she was saying. If anyone had an 'unfitting' home, it was him when he was a child. His mother didn't love him, his dad didn't love him, his own teacher didn't love him, in fact, that teacher wanted to kill him. Nobody ever loved Gaara, which is why he found it stupid that Temari and Kankuro were considering themselves his family. He had none, and that was that. Nobody loved him, in fact most of the people he ran into feared him or tried to use him as a machine. But he wasn't little anymore. He wasn't just about to sit there and cry every time he learned that somebody, once again, had pretended to actually care for him and then wind up trying to kill him for whatever reasons he didn't bother to find out. Everyone feared him, because of how he acted and not to mention the fact that he was being possessed by the sand demon, so there was no reason for anyone **not **to fear him. Whatever Minji had suffered was nothing compared to what he had to go through. But because of his curiosity getting the best of him, he couldn't help but dig deeper into this whole 'nonfitting' home that Minji was describing.

"Minji," Gaara said. Minji looked up.

"Yes?" Minji asked.

"Why was it unfitting?" Gaara asked. He turned to Minji just in time to see her eyes go dark before she looked down at the ground as they walked.

"Well, it just was…I mean, a lot of people didn't like me for multiple reasons. It's not that they wanted to kill me or anything, they just didn't want me to excel in life. I think that was my mother to blame. She was a very successful woman and she always bragged about it. Well all that bragging got her into trouble although everyone pretended to be her friend. They would talk to her and go over her house, but really all they were trying to do was find out what her secret was. They planned to steal it and make fortune of their own. I knew it and my father knew it too but we never said anything. My father thought that she deserved it because on the night of their honeymoon, she told him that if she wasn't pregnant with me at the time, she would've never married him because in her mind, married women only worked for their husband. When I was growing up, I started to become just like my mom. I was excelling at everything and the parents of the children hated it. I remember multiple times when they tried to stop me from getting awards or they tried to cheat in things. They didn't do it so their own child could win. They just didn't want **me **to have it, because I was the daughter of the overly successful lady. At first I ignored it, but then after years of it, it finally started to take a toll on me," Minji explained. Gaara rolled his eyes. He knew that she didn't have it as bad as him. People were just jealous of her. People weren't jealous of him, they just hated him for no reason and decided to kill him. She should just be happy that they didn't try and kill her. He knew she was just too soft.

"You let people get the best of you. That's pathetic," Gaara replied coldly.

"I know I did, and I accept that. To be honest, I could've lived with people being jealous of me. It was the other problem that finally made my mom see the light and had uncle Kakashi come get me," Minji laughed, although it was a sad laugh, almost as if she wasn't trying to be sad. Gaara lifted an eyebrow. There was more? Now his curiosity was really peeked.

"And what's that?" Gaara asked.

"Are you asking questions just to pass the time until we get to the jail or are you really just curious?" Minji asked.

"Passing time," Gaara lied.

"Well, I guess it started a little in between everyone trying to make sure that I failed at everything. The other thing that people, mostly the girls, didn't like about me was that I was too good with boys. But it wasn't my fault, it's just that I was able to talk to them more naturally than the girls. The girls didn't like me, so it was damn near impossible to talk to any of them. That's why I like the girls here because they immediately welcomed me with warm faces and it's been a long time since that's happened. But yeah, at my village, they basically labeled me as the 'boy snatcher'. If you ask me, it didn't make sense seeing as I never had a boyfriend over there and I never even kissed any of the ones that had girlfriends, so the nickname was useless. After a while, word got out to my dad about my 'naughtiness' I guess, and he had a whole sit down with me, saying that I shouldn't hang out with boys and how that was whorish and whatever. So, not wanting to disobey my father, that's exactly what I did. I started trying to hang out with the girls at school and after a while I eventually made a friend with one girl named Ai. I liked her up until I realized that she was just using me to get some boy that she had had her eyes on but couldn't pursue him because he liked me. So in the end, she hated me too for my skills and that really crushed me. So I went back to hanging out with my guy friends and all was well, at least for me it was," Minji told.

"I sense a 'but' coming," Gaara said. He didn't know why, but he found her story really interesting, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was starting to sound like she had almost suffered as much as he did…almost.

"I got really sick one day and it turned out that I had caught ammonia so I had to stay home for a **long **time. So my dad would take care of me while my mom went about bragging again. Really early on, I started to notice that my dad would be looking at me in a funny way, but not laughter wise. I ignored it at first, because he did it from far away, and I just thought that he was watching me to see if I was getting any better. That's when Kakashi decided to start visiting recently, which is why he was late with training for Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. Then the staring got more frequent, and it used to creep me out when he would watch me eat and sleep sometimes…then he started touching me. He would rub my arms and touch my knee, claiming he was checking to see if I had any bruises which made absolutely no sense at all seeing as I was inside all day. But I hugged him anyway because he was just looking out for me. Not to mention he always looked mad so I just wanted to make him feel happy is all. Uncle Kakashi began to notice it too, and when I went to bed, I heard him threatening to knock it off or else. My dad didn't listen, saying he'll do to his daughter whatever the hell he wants to because he was my dad and Kakashi wasn't. Kakashi got mad and his visits became less and less frequent, and then stopped all together. By then my mother had noticed but she was so busy with her success that she didn't even take the time to investigate into it. One day my dad got into a heated argument over the phone with my uncle, and he repeated what he had said the first time Kakashi told him to knock it off….," Minji trailed off, refusing to finish the rest. But Gaara's interest was at the peak and he seemed a little upset to see that she had stopped. He stopped walking. They were pretty close to the park but he wasn't about to take her to the jail until she finished this story. Minji looked up, noticing that he had stopped.

"What?" Minji asked.

"You're not finished, with the story, are you?" Gaara asked. Minji shook her head, and refused to meet eyes with him, which he didn't blame her for.

"Continue," he demaned.

"I really don't want to," Minji said.

"Continue," Gaara said again in his ice cold voice. Minji sighed, knowing she wasn't getting out of this one.

"My father…stood true to his threat that night…," Minji finished and this time, it was no doubt that she was finished. Gaara just stood there, not moving. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Minji hadn't straight out said it, but if you were smart enough, you could connect the pieces from there. He assumed Kakashi must've taken custody of her straight after that and now here she was. He took back what he had said, she **was** similar to him, even if people weren't trying to kill her. But people were trying to hurt her, and her dad basically did the whole package. He understood now why she was so happy when everyone welcomed her, especially the girls. Her life back at that other village was terrible, just like his own village. But both of them had taken it a different way. She took it but tried to pretend like nothing was wrong, while he just dwelled on it and now it controlled who he was today, hating everyone and not allowing anybody to love him but only hate him in return. That comment about her dad also explained why she hugged him. He must've reminded her of her father and she just wanted to make him happy is all. Gaara never put much thought into people's troubles but this one had hit home, basically on target. He released the sand from her wrists and Minji smiled at him, as if everything she had just said was never said to begin with.

"You sure you want to do that? I'll escape," Minji laughed.

"Go ahead," Gaara said.

"Okay! Sit yourself, but don't pursue me again or I'll tell everyone that you let me go to begin with," Minji smiled.

"If you value your life, you wouldn't do that," Gaara had meant for that to come out as a threat, but it didn't come out as threatening as he wanted it to. And Minji laughing only confirmed it.

"See ya!" Minji called happily as she jumped away. Gaara went in search of another girl, or Shino and Choji, to find.

_PHEW! Glad that chapter is over! I think that was the longest chapter I've ever written for this story. So what do you guys think? I know it sounds really cheesy that she was raped by her dad but doesn't it all make sense now about how she was so happy to see these people? Also, props to Kakashi for being an awesome uncle! And props to Gaara for not being a jerk! Stay tuned! The next chapter features Tenten! Why? Because Tenten was smart enough to escape from the jail, that's why! It's Tenten and…..Please rate and review! _


	16. MaybeJust Mabye?

Chapter 16:

Maybe…Just Maybe?

_Suckers! _Tenten thought in her head as she ran away from the jail. She had found her way out of her bindings but instead of helping Temari also escape, she just left, claiming she didn't have enough time to free her too. Tenten laughed to herself. She might've been caught by Kiba, but she wasn't going to be caught by anyone else.

_Kiba. _

Just thinking about his name made Tenten snarl. How dare he insult Neji and try to tell her if she had a chance with him or not? In truth, she knew deep down that he was right, but did he have to say it out like that? She was Neji's teammate, not Kiba. She, Lee, maybe Gai-sensei, and possibly Hinata knew Neji better than anybody else, especially when you take the actual time to try and talk to him. Sure, her talks usually weren't successful, but it always worth a shot. But all this meant was that Tenten would have to step up her game for three reasons now; to get him before Minji does, to just be with him, and to prove Kiba wrong.

"How dare he say that. Neji is not an asshole," Tenten said out loud. It was supposed to be a thought, but she ended up saying it out loud anyway. She had been stopped running, and she was walking instead.

"Who called me an asshole?" she heard a very familiar voice say from behind her. Her face blew up like a cherry, but she subsided it for the time being and turned to a tree to find Neji sitting on it, his leg dangling. How had she not notice he was right there? That was some serious bad ninja skill she needed to correct right away.

"Um, aren't you supposed to be chasing people?" Tenten asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be in jail? I heard you got caught," Neji said.

"Yeah, I escaped the bindings. Hey! You didn't answer my question! Why are you just sitting here?" Tenten asked.

"Actually, I was tailing you because I saw you escape from the prison, but you seemed to into some conversation in your head that you didn't even notice. I thought to throw a rock at you to get your attention but that's Lee thing," Neji explained, not even looking at her. Tenten could feel the blush rising to her cheeks and she struggled to keep it down.

_He was tailing me? This whole time? And I didn't even NOTICE?! _Tenten thought, embarrassed at herself.

"So mind telling me who called me an asshole? I believe **you **never answered that question," Neji said, now turning back to her. Tenten turned away from him, not being able to talk under that stare. How is it that you can't even see his pupils and yet that stare is still scary.

"Um…nobody in particular…," Tenten trailed off and she heard Neji sigh.

"Stop it with the slow talking, I hate it when Hinata does that," Neji complained.

"No need to get pissed off. It was just Kiba who said it, that was all, but we were joking around so it probably just slipped out and-"

"I'm the asshole and yet he's the one flirting with my cousin who's completely in love with Naruto?" Neji mumbled to himself.

"Huh? Did I miss something?" Tenten asked.

"That Kiba guy has been flirting with my cousin and I don't like it. I would say this is a one sided feud but I've been seeing him giving me glares from across the room. I don't know what issue that guy has with me or something, but he has one more time to do or say something before I punch him in the throat," Neji growled.

"Oh…wow…um, how long has this been going on?" Tenten asked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Usually, Neji ignores issues like these, but maybe seeing as his cousin was involved in it, it made more of a spark.

"Beats me. Tell your little Kiba friend that if he says one more thing about me, it's going to be me pounding his face into a wall," Neji picked a twig off the tree and threw it in the other direction.

"Like I said, Neji, we were just playing around, I'm sure Kiba didn't mean to say that. If anything, he was probably joking," Tenten said, and she didn't know who she was trying to convince, him or her.

"Doesn't matter. I'm not in the mood as of lately to be dealing with people and their dumbass remarks," Neji said.

"You know I've actually been meaning to ask you about that. Why **have **you been so pissed off lately? And I mean more than usual," Tenten asked.

"You ever heard the phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat'?" Neji asked. Tenten nodded and Neji jumped down from the tree.

"You're about to be that cat," Neji smirked. Tenten immediately took off running, now wishing that she hadn't stopped to have a conversation. Damn her small minded self. She tried running in zig zags and jumping from low trees to high trees and back again, but she couldn't shake Neji off.

"Do you honestly think that you can run from me? You must be deluded," Neji said, catching up to her. He almost grabbed her but she jumped to the side, almost having Neji collide with a tree. He kicked off of it and ran again.

"Okay, that was new," Neji complimented her.

"Not new enough if you didn't run into it, now is it?" Tenten laughed. She was actually enjoying this game now. Being caught by Kiba was no fun, but being chased by Neji was way more fun. Smiling to herself, she didn't feel herself slow down a little, and that was just about enough for Neji to grab her arm. They both stopped when Tenten finally noticed she was caught and also how close she was to Neji, which wasn't normal. The blush rose to her face before she could stop it and Neji looked at her confused.

"Are you…blushing?" Neji asked. Tenten quickly shook her head.

"No!...I'm cold, is all. It's getting cold out here," Tenten lied, but Neji bought it.

"Should've brought a jacket with you then. Back to the jail," Neji said. They walked back to the jail and the whole time, Tenten was unable to hide her blush.

_That's it for this chapter! Told you I didn't like Tenten and Neji together. They just don't mix very well :/. Anyways, SORRY FOR UPDATING VERY VERY LATE! I was in Atlantic City with no access to fanfiction so I never got the chance to write anything but it gave me great time to figure out what I want to happen. Also, you guys should read my Fruits Basket Story because it's really good…I think lol. Anyways, really sorry about that. Will be updating very shortly from now on! Next chapter features Kiba and…..Please rate and review! I'll give you a hint though…It's the person that he wanted to catch in the first place. Rate and Review!_


	17. I Need an Answer

Chapter 17:

I Need an Answer

_Yes! I see her! She can't run from me and Akamaru! _Kiba thought happily. After hearing somebody slipping and taking off in a run, he ran over fast enough to just catch Hinata running away. He was looking for her to begin with and now he wasn't going to lose her. That'll be two girls he put in jail. Congrats to him. He tailed her slowly, waiting for her to stop and catch her breath. After a minute or two of chasing, finally she did, thinking that nobody was following her. Then Kiba jumped from his hiding place and tackled her to the ground.

"Ah!" Hinata squealed.

"Got you!" Kiba laughed.

"Kiba! You scared me!" Hinata panted. He got off of her and helped her to her feet.

"Sorry about that. But I had to make sure that you wouldn't get away" Kiba said, "I'm glad I caught you actually, because I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Ask me…something?" Hinata asked, confused.

"Come on, to the jail," Kiba said. Hinata smiled and nodded. They began to walk as Kiba tried to decide how to bring up her and Neji kissing. He couldn't just say it because she would probably just bluntly deny anything he would say. Snapping his fingers, he finally found a tactic.

"So, Hinata, what do you think of Minji?" Kiba asked.

"Minji? Oh…I like her…she's…really nice," Hinata smiled.

"Did she tell anyone who she had a crush on?" Kiba asked.

"That's…something I shouldn't say…," Hinata looked away.

"Aw, too bad. I could've gave her some tips. She could've went out with Neji or somebody," Kiba said. He saw Hinata look at him and he saddened, knowing what got her attention.

"Why Neji?" Hinata asked.

"Why not? I mean, no homo, but Neji's a pretty good looking guy and he's strong and whatnot. I see no reason for her not to date him," Kiba said.

"But you don't even like my cousin," Hinata said so suddenly, it caught Kiba off guard. He looked at her, shocked.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiba asked.

"It's just that…I've seen the way…you've been staring…at him lately and…it's not in a nice way is all…," Hinata said. Kiba was surprised that she had caught on to that. Oh well, he can cover it up.

"Oh that?! Nah, that's just something Neji and I do from time to time. It's sort of a ritual thing, been going on since the academy actually," Kiba faked a laugh and sighed in relief when Hinata seemed to accept that answer.

"That's good," Hinata smiled.

"So what about you?" Kiba asked.

"Huh?" Hinata asked.

"Don't you have somebody you care deeply about? Somebody you love?" Kiba asked, making goo-goo faces. Hinata's face lit up and Kiba knew he was hitting his target. Maybe she would confess to it?

"Um…what would…make you…think that, Kiba?" Hinata asked, not looking at him but at the ground.

"Well, for one thing, you're blushing like a cherry. I just took a wild guess. So who is it? Sasuke? Shikamaru? Lee? Naruto? Neji?" Kiba stopped at Neji when he noticed the quick change in Hinata's face but didn't catch it quite fast enough. He saw her blushing stop at the mention of Neji but what he didn't see was her face get even redder when he mentioned Naruto's name. **(AN: That's something that he should've seen but he didn't so this only makes it worse that he got the wrong assumption). **But Hinata was confused.

"Why would you mention Neji? He's my cousin," Hinata said. Kiba sighed and decided that enough was enough.

"Listen, Hinata, don't be around the bush, I saw what you two did," Kiba said.

"What are you…talking about?" Hinata asked.

"I saw you and Neji kissing each other on the roof that day. I saw the whole thing," Kiba said. Hinata's mouth dropped open and she gasped, fear clear in her eyes. Somebody had saw them? But how? Nobody was around.

"Kiba…um…," Hinata couldn't finish her sentence. Her head was still trying to process how anyone could've seen them.

"Hinata, are you crazy or something? That's your cousin! And you two are always saying how you're not even that close, which is obviously a lie now. Why Neji? He's an asshole! And he treats everyone like crap, even his own teammates and I never see you and him actually talking to one another. Why would you go out with someone like that? Or even kiss him? Don't you know that's like incest-"

"Shut up, Kiba! You're mistaken!" Hinata suddenly yelled at him. Kiba backed away a little, shocked at Hinata's outburst.

"Hinata-"

"You don't know anything about Neji! None of you do so quit talking about him as if you've been with him his entire life! And for your information that kiss was an accident so don't go telling about something you know nothing about!" Hinata yelled. Kiba just sat there, quiet and taken aback. This was the first time he had ever heard Hinata burst like that, and to be honest, it scared him. Hinata, realizing herself that she had acted out of character, blushed a deep red and walked ahead of him. They were almost at the jail. Kiba followed behind her, and it was really quiet. They got to the jail and before Kiba left, Hinata grabbed his sleeve.

"Kiba…um…don't…tell anyone…about that…please?" Hinata asked.

"What, you mean the outburst?" Kiba asked. Hinata shook her head and Kiba realized she was talking about the kiss.

"Um…sure thing," Kiba said sadly. He jumped away and Hinata turned to find Tenten and Temari looking at her strangely.

"What?" Hinata asked.

"What's all this about an accidental kiss, Hinata? Have you been hiding something from us about you and Kiba?" Temari asked with a grin on her face. Hinata's face blew up. They had heard her outburst, but at least they assumed it Kiba and not Neji which was in a way, better.

_Maybe this is better? _Hinata thought, then she turned to Temari and said, "Well, actually…yes…but you have to….listen first…"

_OH NO! BAD HINATA! BAD HINATA! SHE'S LYING! WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE'S GOING TO TELL THEM?! Man this chapter was pretty good if I do say so myself. Oh, in case you got lost:_

_Ino escaped from Shikamaru_

_Kankuro captured Temari_

_Hinata escaped from Naruto_

_Kiba caught Tenten_

_Sakura escaped from Lee_

_Minji escaped from Gaara_

_Tenten escaped from jail but got caught by Neji_

_Kiba caught Hinata._

_Be prepared for the next chapter! Minji is running away from someone! The next chapter features Minji and…Please rate and review!_


	18. Getting Close Now Aren't We?

Chapter 18:

Getting Close Now Aren't We?

"Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm Minji!" Minji sang happily to herself as she ran through the trees. Sasuke was hot on her trail but it didn't bother her one bit. Now that she had escaped from Gaara, well she was let go, she was sure that she would win the game and nobody would be able to catch her anymore. She heard Sasuke almost catch up to her but she did a super high jump and was ahead of the game again.

"You're singing the song wrong, gingerbread man," Sasuke pointed out as he chased after her.

"That's gingerbread woman!" Minji teased. Sasuke rolled his eyes playfully, but also a little bit surprised that he hadn't caught her yet. He kept getting close to her and then out of nowhere she was way in front of him.

"Wait a minute," Sasuke said. He finally decided to use his Sharingan (however you spell it) and realized that he was chasing a clone, and that the real Minji was either hiding somewhere near him or he had never really found her. Just to be sure, he sped up and grabbed 'Minji'. Like his theory, it poofed into smoke, proving that he had in fact been chasing a clone. So where was the real Minji? Sasuke stood silently, waiting to hear anything. It was quiet for a long moment, until suddenly he heard something very faint. It sounded like laughter.

"Great…she's laughing at me," Sasuke mumbled. The laughter got louder and Sasuke was able to locate it. It was a few trees above him, but not high enough for him not to hear her laughing…

Minji couldn't help herself. Sasuke chasing her clone was funny and it was even more funny when he finally realized he was chasing a clone. The expression that crossed his face was just too priceless. She was laughing so hard, she didn't even notice that Sasuke had stopped chasing the clone and had started to climb to exactly where she was. Noticing a moment too late, she went to jump but Sasuke reached out and grabbed her before she could go anywhere. Losing her balance, she made them both fall, and they landed on the ground with a thud, Minji landing on top of Sasuke.

"That hurt…" Minji half laughed painfully. They both opened their eyes at the same time and that's when they both realized exactly how close they were to each other. Their lips were only mere inches apart. Minji made no move to get up and Sasuke made no move to get her up. They sat like that for a moment or two, neither really knowing what to. The finally, Sasuke spoke.

"You're kind of crushing me. Are you planning on getting off?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Minji laughed, getting up off of Sasuke and helping him to his feet.

"If I had known I was going to get hurt trying to catch you, I would've aimed for someone else," Sasuke said.

"Oh, you were aiming for me? Is there something I should know, Sasuke?" Minji asked playfully.

"Yeah. You're going to jail," Sasuke smirked. He reached out to hold her but Minji jumped out of the way.

"You must be crazy if you think you're going to catch me that easily," Minji smiled. She began running and Sasuke sighed before chasing after her again.

"Why don't you just let me catch you?" Sasuke asked.

"That would be cheating. I play fair," Minji laughed.

"Well, I don't," Sasuke smirked. He reached for her again but she got out of his grasp.

"That's a shame. You must've been a real pain in the ass at home then. People trying to play old maid and you probably cheated the cards," Minji said. Sasuke's eyes saddened for a moment and he didn't speak. The mention of his family had quieted him, and it didn't take long for Minji to notice and remember what her uncle had told her about Sasuke prior to meeting him.

"Oh no! Sasuke, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that," Minji said, now upset. She actually stopped running and so did Sasuke. They were only one tree apart.

"It's alright. You didn't mean it," Sasuke half smiled. Minji relaxed against the tree and Sasuke, now over the moment, took that opportunity to jump at her but alas he missed because she jumped away.

"You faker! You totally just cheated!" Minji laughed.

"Nobody told you to start relaxing!" Sasuke smiled.

"I was being sentimental and that's where it gets me? Oh, you're evil," Minji laughed.

"Not my fault you fell for some sap stuff," Sasuke laughed. Minji turned her whole body around to face him while she ran and Sasuke didn't like that.

"You're the sap," Minji said, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Wait, Minji, turn around! Look where you're going!" Sasuke warned.

"Huh?" Minji asked. Just then she didn't jump as far as she thought she did. The heel of her foot hit the side of the tree branch, Minji lost her balance, and almost fell backwards but Sasuke had jumped over and grabbed her hand.

"You dummy. Don't you know it's dangerous to jump backwards?" Sasuke asked.

"Pull me up!" Minji said, and she actually sounded scared.

"Are you scared?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes! Do you realized how high we are?! I don't like heights! Pull me up!" Minji whined.

"Alright, alright, calm down, I got you," Sasuke waved it off and began to pull her up. She grabbed onto his shoulder with her other hand and by the time he was almost done pulling her up, Sasuke paused noticing that their lips were once again, mere inches apart. Minji noticed it too, but the fear of her falling quickly brought her out of the 'romantic' moment.

"I feel like I'm slipping," Minji said, but Sasuke made no move to pull her up for he was still staring at her.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, I'm slipping!" Minji almost yelled in his face. Sasuke blinked and finally pulled her back up.

"Sorry, I kind of spaced out," Sasuke apologized. Sasuke looked down to where she could've fallen.

"Wow, that's a long fall. Good thing I caught you, you could've really gotten hurt," Sasuke realized. He got no reply and turned to find that Minji was gone.

"Damnnit! That's twice already!" Sasuke complained.

_Awww, wasn't that sweet? Don't worry ladies and gentleman for I still have not decided who should be with who yet so this technically means nothing!...Or does it? Lol, I know, I'm mean. I personally liked this chapter because I like romance very very much. Well I don't know if this next chapter is going to be romance or straight up hell for some people. Know why? Because the next chapter features Naruto and…Please rate and review!_


	19. Declaration of Love!

Chapter 19:

Declaration of Love!

"Naruto! Will you please give it up already?! Go chase someone else!" Sakura complained. Ever since Sakura had escaped from Lee and witnessing Hinata escaping from Naruto, Naruto had spotted Sakura and had been chasing her non- stop since. She was extremely tired, and by this point this game seemed to be taking forever to be finished. Well, that was mostly because these boys sucked at catching these girls, Sakura realized with a smirk. But why did Naruto have to find her? First Lee, which turned out pretty well, but now Naruto? Why couldn't Sasuke find her? She would've willingly went to jail with him if he meant he had to hold on to her the whole way there. Sakura sighed. She just couldn't get what she wanted now could she?

"I'm going to catch you, Sakura!" Naruto shouted happily. Sakura couldn't run anymore, so it was either let Naruto catch her or die from exhaustion…Sakura immediately stopped running. Naruto caught up to her and noticed that she was panting.

"I caught you!" Naruto said regardless.

"Hooray for you…but…I'm exhausted…," Sakura panted out, falling to her knees trying to catch the breath she really needed.

"Come on, get up so I can take you to the jail. I might've lost Hinata but I'm not letting you escape," Naruto smiled.

"Naruto…you blockhead…give me a second…," Sakura breathed. Naruto groaned but sat down beside her, giving her some time to catch her breath. He hated waiting. He wanted to take her to the jail so he could go after Hinata again, if she wasn't already caught by someone else. He wanted to find out how she disappeared so fast. Sakura was taking forever, so Naruto decided that he would help her out. He got closer to her and put his back to her.

"What…are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Come on, get on my back. I'll carry you," Naruto smiled. Sakura only looked at him.

"You serious?" Sakura asked. She had a very bad feeling that this might just be a little plan for him to have a reason for her to be close to him…but then again, Naruto never offers her a piggyback…and unfortunately neither does Sasuke. Sakura sighed, remembering that Sasuke hadn't caught her, but got on Naruto's back anyway. Naruto stood up, and started walking. It was quiet for a while, until Naruto decided to speak when he realized that Sakura had finally caught her breath.

"Sorry for chasing you so long. I had no idea that you could go that far for so long," Naruto laughed.

"Well, if I'm on a team with you and Sasuke, I'm going to have to learn to catch up eventually," Sakura said.

"Nah, you don't need to worry about us. Sasuke and I can handle ourselves, especially me, seeing as I'm stronger and way cooler!" Naruto paraded about himself.

"As if! Sasuke has more coolness in his arm than you do in your entire body!" Sakura huffed.

"I don't get it," Naruto said.

"What? You don't get the joke? Are you really that stu-"

"No, I mean the whole thing with you girls with Sasuke. I don't get it," Naruto cut her off. Sakura blinked and noticed the change of tone in Naruto's voice. He didn't sound happy, he just sounded flat, which wasn't normal. He was looking at the ground as they walked.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Why do you and all these other girls like a guy like Sasuke? He's not even into any of you and yet you all follow him around like little puppies following their mother. I mean, sure he's smart and yeah he's a ninja just like everybody else, but what makes him so special? Is it because he lost his family? Because he's quiet? Because he doesn't talk to any of you? I just don't get it," Naruto explained.

"Naruto, there's just some things you will never understand," Sakura smirked.

"Do you even understand it?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I do. I'm a girl that's attracted to him, of course I know why I like him," Sakura said, insulted that he had even suggested that.

"Then what do you like about him?" Naruto asked. His voice was still flat.

"I like Sasuke because he's cool," Sakura said.

"Well, what makes him cool?" Naruto asked.

"He's really smart," Sakura said.

"So is Neji," Naruto said.

"He doesn't take anybody's crap."

"Neither does Neji or Gaara."

"He's very distant"

"So are Neji, Gaara, Shino, and Hinata sometimes."

"He's very determined."

"So am I," Naruto said back. Sakura stopped in her train of thought, which really wasn't a train because in fact, she had run out of reasons. That was basically all she knew about Sasuke, aside from the fact that his whole family was murdered, but that would considered pity. But why did it matter? Every other girl liked Sasuke, especially she and Ino, but hearing Naruto's response to everything she said actually made her stop. Every reason she named, Naruto was able to relate it to somebody else, and sometimes more than one person, he even ended it with himself. Thinking about it, Sakura actually realized that she really had no **actual, cloud nine reason **to like Sasuke, she just didn't. But that didn't mean she didn't like him, she still loved Sasuke a lot…but was it even considered love if you can't even name one thing that's different about him to all the other kids? Maybe Sakura didn't **love **Sasuke…she just **liked **him. Yeah, that thought seemed acceptable. Getting angry, she turned back to Naruto.

"Look, Naruto, what's it you anyway? I can like whoever I want and that is my decision," Sakura said.

"Because you know I like you and you choose to ignore it," Naruto said so suddenly that it actually threw Sakura off of what she was about to say.

_Well damn, _Sakura thought, _This is a whole new side of Naruto I've never seen before. Even though he is right, I do ignore his advances towards me._

"But wait, I thought you liked Minji? What about her?" Sakura asked.

"I think of that more as an attraction rather than a crush. She's new so I want to make her feel at home. With you, it's different because you know I like you and you choose to ignore and go for Sasuke for whatever reasons _you _couldn't even figure out," Naruto said. Sakura cursed in her head, he _had _noticed that.

"Well, since you think you're mister Einstein at the moment, why don't you tell me why you think **I'm **so special?" Sakura huffed. Naruto was going to go as blank as she did, she knew it.

"I like you because you're not afraid to say anything. You take others feelings into the account of a situation, and you're always paying attention to what people are saying when others won't choose to give that person the time of day. You always try to look at the bright side of a situation and when you greet people you always have a warm smile on your face. Your aura brightens the room everywhere you go because most of the time you're happy, even if you are thinking about Sasuke at that moment. You like to give people second chances and you take charge when you know nobody else is left to do it, except for when I'm around, because that's my job. That's why I like you," Naruto smiled.

Sakura was speechless. She hadn't expected Naruto to say all that. She expected the normal stuff like 'you're pretty and funny and smart', but Naruto had skipped all that and said things that couldn't help but make her smile.

"Um, Naruto, I think I can walk now," Sakura said quietly. Naruto stopped so she could get down. The jail was just over the hill. They both stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Wow…um, gee Naruto…that was…um…really sweet. Thank you," Sakura was blushing and she knew it. Naruto laughed.

"I did say a lot, didn't I? That was like a whole paragraph! And by the way, you totally sounded like Hinata just now" Naruto chuckled. Sakura sighed in relief, his voice was back to its annoying tone, "Well, the jail is just down that hill. See ya later! Got some more girls to catch, although I think there's only two left!" Naruto ran from sight and Sakura walked to the jail a small smile plastered on her face.

_Man, this chapter was long! But it's actually one of my personal favorites! So what do you guys think? Sorry if Naruto was a little OOC but there was a reason for that! And he's right! The only girls left to catch are Minji and Ino! Oh and just in case you haven't realized, this all isn't happening in slow motion, it's actually happening pretty fast it's just that it looks long because it's chapter wise. It's all still one night but it's about to be over! Next chapter features Ino and….Please rate and review!_


	20. We Meet Again!

Chapter 20:

We Meet Again?!

Ino was running from Shikamaru…again! He had finally caught up to her and now she was running from him. But she had to admit that this time, it was a little awkward with her and him and she noticed. She knew Shikamaru was behind her but he wasn't saying anything, not even insults. It was really quiet and Ino didn't like it. After hearing Shikamaru confess that he used to have a crush on her and even tried to kiss her, Ino didn't know what to think. Then she wanted to know who the person was that Shikamaru was crushing on now. It's not that she really cared about it or anything, she was just being nosy…yeah, that was it.

"Shikamaru, can you say something? This is really awkward," Ino finally spoke up.

"Why do I have to speak up? You've been quiet too," Shikamaru said.

"Because you're the one chasing me. Aren't you supposed to psych me out or something? Say something," Ino ordered.

"Well I don't know what you expect me to say after that last time I chased after you" Shikamaru said, and Ino felt a blush rise to her cheeks, "I mean, after you make a confession like that, you're kind of at a lost for words."

"It doesn't count as a confession when it was a past crush," Ino said.

"It still counts," Shikamaru sighed. Why was she even bringing this up again?

"Speaking of crushes, you said that you had yourself focused on somebody else now…mind telling me who that is?" Ino asked.

"As if. Why would I tell you?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Because I'm your team mate?" Ino guessed.

"So is Choji. I didn't tell him either. The only person that knows who I like is me and my mom unfortunately. It's none of your business," Shikamaru said.

"Well, can I take a guess?" Ino asked.

"Sure," Shikamaru said.

"Is it Sakura?" Ino asked.

"No."

"Hinata?"

"No."

"Temari?"

"No."

"Tenten?"

"No."

"Minji?"

"No."

"Is it me again by any chance?" Ino asked.

"Nice try but you get no second chances," Shikamaru laughed.

"It was worth a shot," Ino giggled. Shikamaru took her distraction to strike, pinning her to the ground.

"Ow! Shikamaru! No fair!" Ino complained.

"Maybe next time, you should pay more attention to how close people get to you," Shikamaru said.

"Whatever. Just take me to the jail already," Ino huffed. Shikamaru helped her to her feet and they began to walk. It was quiet for a moment until Ino spoke. She was now curious about something else that had crossed her mind.

"Hey, Shikamaru?" Ino said.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"How come…you don't like me anymore?" Ino asked.

"What are you talking about? I like you," Shikamaru said.

"No I mean as you did when you were in the academy," Ino corrected herself.

"Oh…well, I guess I just got over it is all. I mean, I tried to sway you but you just ignored all my advances or didn't notice them so I eventually gave up on you," Shikamaru said.

"I must've not noticed them," Ino said.

"Yeah, because you were too busy trying to date Sasuke along with just about every girl in the damn class," Shikamaru laughed.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Ino half laughed. But something was still bothering her, and a blush rose to her cheeks as she thought about how to ask him the next question.

"So um…say if…I did…notice the advances in the academy…what would you have done then?" Ino asked.

"Huh?" Shikamaru asked.

"What would you have done if I had noticed the advances?" Ino asked.

"Then it would be all up to you. I couldn't make you go out with me. If you knew that I liked you then it would've been up to you whether you wanted to have a relationship with me or not. I just would've been waiting for you say yes or no," Shikamaru answered. Ino nodded, figuring that was about right. If she had noticed, she would've been the one who had to settle it. So what about…

"Well, what would you do if you still had a crush on me now and I noticed?" Ino asked. Shikamaru stopped walking and so did Ino.

"I don't know. I mean, would you even acknowledge it on another level?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, I would have to if I noticed, right?" Ino asked.

"How about instead of asking me what I would do and tell me what **you **would do if you noticed," Shikamaru turned the tables on her and Ino didn't like it at all, because she didn't know. What would she do? Say no and continue chasing after Sasuke? Say yes and then probably regret it later because of Sasuke admitting his true feelings for her? Say yes but then by some twist of fate get rejected by Shikamaru himself?

"Um…I don't really know. I'm more used to being the chaser not the chased," Ino said.

"And by chaser, you mean chasing after Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, already knowing the answer.

"Don't turn the tables on me, Shikamaru! I asked you first! What would you do? And stop avoiding the question!" Ino huffed.

"You really want to know what I would do?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes I do," Ino replied.

"You sure you want to know?" Shikamaru asked.

"Positively, absolutely sure," Ino said.

"You honestly want to know?" Shikamaru asked.

"Damnnit, Shikamaru! Just tell me what you would do!" Ino was growing impatient.

"Okay then, but don't say I didn't give you the option of saying no," Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders. Then he grabbed Ino by the back of the head and kissed her.

_I love leaving chapters like that! Well what do you think about that?! Ino's captured in more ways then 1, lol! Anways, the night is winding down and only Minji is the last one standing. I'm not going to leave you on a cliffhanger this time. Next chapters features Minji and Neji! Will she get caught? Let's find out! Please rate and review!_


	21. Kisses For Neji

Chapter 21:

Kisses for Neji

Minji could actually say she was happy with this game so far. First Gaara had captured her but then released her for whatever reason, Sasuke caught her but couldn't hold on to her long enough, and now she had been spotted by Neji, which she assumed would be the hardest to get away from seeing as he had 360 degrees vision. But Minji had a little sneak attack up her sleeve that uncle Kakashi had taught her, and she had no problem using it. When she felt Neji catching up to her, she jumped a tree higher.

"Doing that doesn't help, you know," Neji said as he jumped after her. He landed at the top…but Minji wasn't there.

"What?" Neji said to himself.

"Looking for someone?" Minji asked. Neji turned around and spotted her. How the hell did she get behind him?

"That was sneaky. Not sneaky enough though," Neji smirked. He lunged for her but Minji dropped down to another tree. Again, when Neji jumped down, she was gone. What?...

"Hi, Neji! Up here!" Minji called. Neji looked up and she was on the tree that she had previously been on, but how? Neji had jumped a millisecond after she did, so how did he not notice her jump back up there?

"Let's try this again," Neji mumbled. He jumped up and this time when he jumped he used his Byakugan to see where she went…and he still couldn't spot her. For a quick second, his eyes were unable to catch her until after a second he felt her presence behind him. His eyes went back to normal and he turned around to find Minji laying against a tree. Neji was stunned.

_How the hell is she doing that? My Byakugan should've told me wherever the hell she was moving…how did she go away for that quick second? _Neji thought. He was becoming irritated and at this point he wasn't about to sit here and play cat and mouse…with him as the mouse even though he was supposed to be the cat.

"What's the matter? You look uneasy," Minji laughed.

"I'm trying to figure out how you're managing to sneak past me without being seen," Neji said.

"Hey, maybe I'm just as fast as Lee," Minji shrugged.

"Impossible. Even with Lee's speed, my Byakugan would've been able to at least locate the surrounding area of where you were. Instead, it went completely blank and then suddenly you appeared somewhere else. That's nerve-wracking," Neji explained.

"Aw, is somebody mad because they can't catch me? Tell you what, if you can catch me, I'll let you take me to the jail and I won't even try to run away, but if you don't catch me…" Minji jumped down and this time Neji didn't even bother trying to jump down knowing she wasn't going to be there.

"If I don't catch you, we're going to be here all day," Neji said.

"Nope," Minji's voice said appearing behind him. Then she jumped again.

"You're going to sit here and torment me and my eyes?" Neji guessed.

"Something like that," Minji smiled, appearing on the tree branch under him. She jumped sideways and this time when she appeared, she was actually hanging upside down and her face was in front of Neji's. In less than a second, Minji had put her lips to Neji's and then went away in less than 2 seconds. Neji just stood there for a moment, flabbergasted that he had just let that happen…again…without his permission.

"What kind of game are you playing at?" Neji asked, wherever she was.

"That's the game," Minji appeared below him again, " Every time you fail to catch sight of me, I'm going to kiss you. Sound fun?"

"Not at all," Neji growled.

"Good," Minji smiled. She disappeared and Neji looked up to see if she had appeared there.

"Wrong," Minji's voice said, a kiss landing on his cheek. He turned but she was gone.

"How the hell are you doing this?" Neji asked.

"Trick from my uncle," Minji said quickly as he felt her peck the top of his head then disappear.

"Should've known," Neji mumbled.

"Somebody mad?" Minji asked as Neji felt a peck on his neck then nothing. Neji was growing irritated at this but during his time of staying still, he had managed to catch something. Her appearances before moving only stayed for a second because she must've had another location in her mind at the time she appeared. She still had to see where she was to determine where she was going. Neji actually remembered Kakashi doing this multiple times when Naruto was trying to attack him in a surprise attack, which always failed. So she still needed to see to plan her next location, which was anywhere where Neji was standing, so maybe if he kept moving…?

The next time Minji appeared, Neji had moved out of the way and he kept moving from tree branch to tree branch. Minji couldn't appear fast enough to catch him because he wouldn't stay still long enough for her to grab him or get close to him. Minji pouted to herself. Damn, he had figured out a way around her.

_That's so not cool, _Minji thought to herself, but she was smiling. She appeared one last time and this time she had managed to land exactly where Neji had just landed at the same time. She yelped, surprised.

"That was creepy," Minji laughed. For a split second she forgot that she was supposed to move away. Apparently Neji had forgotten as well and Minji took that opportunity to just poof away in front of him.

"Damnnit," Neji cursed under his breath.

"Still can't catch me, I see," Minji laughed as she appeared in front of him again and planted another one on his lips before disappearing.

"Oh, I'm going to catch you…when I come back," Neji mumbled happily to himself. He ran off and Minji wondered where the hell he was going…the game was just starting to get fun.

_I personally like this chapter too. Did you guys see the poll yet? I wonder who will win. That poll will be very helpful to me with the couples at the end of this, so please vote! Anyways, how about this chapter? Neji got bamboozled and now he's leaving? What do you think Neji is doing? Please rate and review! In the next chapter, it's going to get hectic now that Neji knows her trick._


	22. End Game

Chapter 22:

End Game

"So everybody aware of what they have to do?" Neji asked. Naruto, Lee, Gaara, and Sasuke nodded. Neji turned to his cousin.

"Hinata, where is she?" Neji asked. Hinata used her Byakugan and saw Minji a few miles away, laying down in the grass.

"She's in…um…it looks like Naruto's…backyard," Hinata said.

"Why mine?!" Naruto groaned. The five boys jumped away, knowing that after this, this game was going to be over.

Minji lay in the grass, humming to herself. She was happy. She had managed to escape Gaara, Sasuke **and **Neji! Three strikes and she won. Although she had to admit that last one with Neji was pretty fun. She got to kiss him like what? Four to five times? That was sweet. Wait until she told the girls what she did…Tenten was going to freak and Minji didn't mind that at all. She was sitting in the moonlight, and she noticed that slowly, the light was fading, even though her eyes were closed. She opened them and found a barrier above her…made of sand. Minji immediately poofed out of reach, landing on a tree as she looked down to see where the sand had come from. The grin faded from her face when she saw Naruto, Lee, Gaara, Sasuke, and Neji standing there, and Neji had a grin on his face.

"Oh hell," Minji cursed herself. Immediately she poof and she went running through the trees.

"Go Lee," Neji ordered. Lee jumped in after her, using his incrediably super speed to catch up to her, even if she was poofing from time to time, but Minji couldn't shake him. She ran and jumped faster, but to no avail. When she stopped poofing enough to run, she noticed that some sand was approaching her from beneath her. She stopped long enough to let the sand go in front of her, then poofed in front of it and ran, Lee still on her tail because of the disruption of sand. Suddenly, Naruto appeared before her. She jumped over his head and he disappeared. Then he appeared again from above which she dodged, and the clone disappeared. Then another from the left side, the right side, and below her, which she just barely managed to dodge, and the clones clashed into each other, disappearing into smoke. The next one that appeared was the real Naruto though, so Minji jumped down to the ground to get away from him, taking off in a run. The sand was behind her and Lee was still running beside her in the other path, making sure that she couldn't get away. Minji tried a different tactic, running to the left instead of forward, but she moved back just in time to miss a sand barrier that had appeared before her and just before Lee could change course and crash into the wall, catching her.

"That was a close one," Minji said, poofing further, to no avail because Lee was just too fast. Minji started to wonder…if Naruto was trying to distract her with clones, Lee was running after her to keep her moving, and Gaara was trapping her to one route with his sand…where the hell were Neji and Sasuke? In front of her? Impossible, they hadn't moved when she ran. A Naruto clone missing her by an inch , Minji continued running, do her best to dodge Lee's random spring attacks when he caught up to her side, and Gaara's sand that seemed bent on making sure that she kept running straight. Minji decided to change it up a bit, and instead jumped to the trees to distract the clones and maybe Lee. It worked for about a second or too, until she saw Lee in the trees below her, just in case she fell he would be able to catch her before she could disappear. Gaara's sand was still making impossible to turn in any other direction, and Naruto's clones seemed to be coming nonstop. Finally, Minji spotted any opening to the water unfortunately. But she saw a house across from it. At the speed she was going, she would be able to take that last branch and jump to the house and make a run for the jail to free the other girls and the boys would lose like she wanted them to. Her plan went into trouble when the sand noticed the opening and sealed it off but Minji was planning on that. She jumped over the sand and realized that Naruto's clones had ceased and Lee was no longer below her or chasing her. What she didn't catch in time was Neji appear from atop of where she had jumped and he grabbed her just long enough to hit a nerve point to momentarily paralyze her movements. Minji was almost to the house but had fell instead because of Neji. She would've fallen in the water, if it were not for Sasuke, standing above the house, reach out and grab her arm. Minji closed her eyes, still thinking she was going to hit the water. Noticing there was no splash, Minji finally opened her eyes to find Sasuke looking at her.

"Doesn't this scenario look familiar?" Sasuke teased. Minji would've laughed but at the moment, she was too scared of the water beneath her. Curse her uncle for not teaching her how to swim.

"Pull me up, Sasuke!" Minji asked.

"I don't know, the last time I did that, you managed to get away from me. I don't think I want to do that again," Sasuke teased.

"Sasuke! Pull me up! If you drop me I'll drown!" Minji begged, the tears coming to her eyes just by looking at the water.

"Who said anything about dropping you? I never said I was going to drop you," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke! Please pull me up! I'm really scared right now and I can feel my arm slipping! Pull me up!" Minji cried, the tears running down her face.

"You going to run away when I pull you up?" Sasuke asked.

"No," Minji said.

"You admit defeat?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes! I lost! I call the white flag, whatever! Just pull me up!" Minji cried.

"Alright, alright," Sasuke smiled, finally pulling her up. Minji sat on her knees and wiped the tears away from her face.

"No need for the tears, I was just teasing," Sasuke said. He grabbed her face and kissed her on the forehead. Minji blinked and Sasuke turned to find Neji and the others getting to the roof.

"She admitted defeat?" Lee asked.

"Yup. Now we can all call it a night and go to bed," Sasuke said. He helped Minji to her feet and they all went to the jail to tell the girls that they had lost and it was game over.

_Wow, what is Minji doing to these boys? That was strange for Sasuke, now wasn't it? Still think Minji should tell them what happened? And what amazing team work that was for the boys! I was going to have all the boys join in but I couldn't figure out what all of them would do so sorry! Anyways, prepare yourself, in the next chapter, Hinata finally tells Neji what Naruto told her. What is he going to do? Please rate and review to find out!_


	23. Can't Believe Your Ears

Chapter 23:

Can't Believe Your Ears

(Three days later)

Neji had just gotten back from a mission and he couldn't help but notice that Hinata was more quiet than usual. Whenever they would see each other, she would actually stutter like she does in public, which wasn't normal when they were alone. Not to mention how he kept getting glares from Kiba every time he turned around and Neji was just about sick of that. She didn't even come to his room last night during that thunderstorm, which is exactly what she does all the time. A lot of people would never guess that Neji and Hinata were just a tad bit closer than they put on, but nobody needed to know that, at least for the people outside of the family. But nonetheless, something was troubling Hinata, and Neji was going to figure it out. The next morning he caught her just as she was about to go out on her daily walk.

"We need to talk," Neji said when she opened the door.

"About…about what?" Hinata asked.

"Come on, let's go to the garden," Neji ordered. They went to the back of the house and into the garden, where Neji sat on the grass and Hinata sat on the fountain.

"You want to tell me what's been bothering you lately?" Neji asked.

"I don't know…what you're talking about…," Hinata said.

"Hinata, you're a terrible liar when it comes to me. Not to mention you're stuttering over your words and we're alone, that's not normal. So what's the problem?" Neji asked.

"Well…it's just that…promise you won't get…mad?" Hinata asked.

"No promises and you know that," Neji replied.

"Well…um…when we were playing manhunt…I was running from Nar-Naruto…and he mentioned something…about Kiba…," Hinata trailed off. Neji sighed in irritation. He didn't like where this was going already, but maybe it would explain why he was getting those evil glares from him, not that he cared all that much.

"Well?" Neji asked.

"Naruto said…he said that Kiba…that Kiba swore…Kiba saw us kiss on the roof!" Hinata finished quickly, covering her face with her hands as her face went red. Neji just sat there, his mouth opened. Kiba saw them kiss…Kiba saw them kiss…**kiba **saw them kiss…and told **Naruto**?! Oh no, this was bad.

_What if he told everyone else? Knowing Naruto, he's not even able to keep his big mouth shut! _Neji thought angrily.

"That explains the glares from Kiba. He thinks I'm dating my own cousin," Neji said to himself.

"Huh?" Hinata asked.

"Kiba thinks I'm dating you so that explains those evil glares. I can't believe this, and he told Naruto? Out of all people? Naruto? Naruto's big mouth can't keep something like that to himself!" Neji groaned.

"Well, I don't think Naruto believes him," Hinata said.

"Really? How so?" Neji asked.

"He was laughing as he was telling me…so I don't think he really believes him," Hinata said.

"That's beside the point. What I'm mad about is the fact that Kiba could possibly open his mouth again," Neji said.

"Maybe we should tell him that what he saw was a misunderstanding?" Hinata suggested.

"You know we can't do that. We're not supposed to talk about your birthday which would be the only excuse as to why he saw that," Neji rolled his eyes and Hinata looked away.

"Well, what do we do?" Hinata asked. Neji opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out and he shut it. What were they going to do? For once in his life, Neji couldn't think of a damn thing. This was odd, and it made him angry. After a moment, Hinata spoke up again.

"I may have bought us some time to explain, Neji," Hinata said.

"Huh? How?" Neji asked, still angry with himself that he couldn't come up with a solution.

"Well, the girls sort of overheard me yelling at Kiba…and I told them something that wasn't exactly the truth…," Hinata trailed off.

"What did you tell them?" Neji asked.

_Meanwhile:_

Minji had invited all the girls to breakfast the following day, claiming that her uncle was driving her crazy with his horrible singing in the kitchen that morning. They were at the noodle shack, actually having a good time.

"I can't believe that you were caught so easily, Temari!" Tenten laughed.

"Hey, you got caught too," Temari said.

"Yeah, but at least I escaped once, you didn't even bother trying to get out of the bindings," Tenten said. Temari waved it off.

"Sakura, who caught you?" Minji asked.

"Naruto," Sakura mumbled. All the girls laughed.

"You got caught by Naruto?! Oh, that's rich! I expected Lee to catch you," Tenten said.

"He almost did! But I distracted him long enough to make my escape," Sakura said.

"How did you do that?" Minji asked.

"I have my ways," Sakura smiled, knowing exactly how she bought her time. She was only waiting for Lee to show up at any minute now. He wouldn't wait long.

"Hey, how come Hinata isn't here?" Tenten asked.

"I don't know. I told her about it. I guess she just didn't want to come," Minji shrugged it off. Then she turned to Ino, noticing that she hadn't said a word all day. In fact, she wasn't even eating her noodles, she was just stirring them around with her chopsticks.

"Hey, Ino, you okay?" Minji asked. Ino blinked and looked up.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Ino asked.

"You've been quiet. Are you upset about something?" Minji asked.

"No," Ino said.

"Well, start talking. For example, who caught you?" Temari asked.

"Shikamaru," Ino said, and a tiny blush rose to her cheeks.

"Really? How?" Temari asked.

"We didn't ask how Kankuro caught you," Tenten remembered.

"He cheated with his puppet of course and oh my! Guess what he thought of me last night," Temari suddenly remembered.

"What?" All the girls said.

"Kankuro thought that I had a crush on Gaara," Temari said. The girls were all quiet and Temari was confused.

"What?" Temari asked.

"I thought you did too," Sakura said. All the girls nodded in unison.

"Are you guys serious? No! I don't like Gaara like that, he's like a brother to me! He could learn to be a bit more affectionate once in a while but damn I'm not in love with the kid! Why would you think that?" Temari asked.

"It was an assumption," Tenten shrugged.

"Well since you're the one who wants to bring up the journeys to the jail, why don't you tell both of yours," Temari dared. Tenten rolled her eyes, remembering the one with Kiba.

"Kiba was a complete asshole. You know what he asked me? He asked me why I liked Neji, like why was that any of his damn business? Then he insulted him and he was just getting on my nerves the whole way there. And to make matters worse, he thought that I liked Lee! Lee! Of all people!" Tenten ranted.

"That's tough girl. Hey, maybe Kiba's just jealous because nobody likes him but Hinata," Sakura shrugged.

"What?" Minji asked, shocked.

"Oh, we didn't tell her guys. Apparently sometime way before Minji came, Hinata admitted that she had a crush on Kiba and that she had kissed him but pretended like it never happened. Kiba confronted her last night and Hinata told him that the kiss was an accident," Sakura explained.

"Ouch. That's mean for Hinata," Minji said.

"I know right? So tell me Tenten, what happened when Neji caught you? Any juicy details?" Sakura asked.

"Not one damn thing. I think Kiba cursed my chances of being with him," Tenten groaned, "What about you? What happened when you were walking with Lee?"

"Lee once again confessed his love to me and yadda yadda yadda. It was nothing important. Naruto on the other hand…it was something," Sakura replied.

"Do tell," Minji smiled.

"Naruto asked why I liked Sasuke so much so of course I had to defend myself, and in the end…I sounded pretty dumb. So then I tried to be smart and ask Naruto why he liked me and…he said just about the sweetest things I've ever heard. You should've heard him guys, it was so romantic," Sakura smiled.

"Good. You can have Naruto, and leave Shika- I mean Sasuke to me," Ino said.

"I will never-! Wait, why were you about to say Shikamaru?" Sakura asked instead.

"Um…his name was just in my mind and it just slipped out," Ino said quickly.

"Nope. I know that face. Ino is hiding something," Sakura teased.

"No I'm not," Ino said.

"Spill it, Ino. What happened with Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing…we just talked is all," Ino said quietly.

"About what?" Minji asked.

"Stuff…okay, okay, no need for the faces" Ino sighed, admitting defeat, "Shikamaru told me that when we were still in the academy that he used to have a crush on me."

"AWWWWWW!" All the girls said.

"Don't do that!" Ino protested.

"But that's so romantic! He admitted to having a past crush on you! That was so sweet!" Tenten smiled.

"Yeah. He even said that once he tried to kiss me but he missed because I moved," Ino explained, her blush coming back and darkening.

"What?! I missed that?! Aw! No fair!" Sakura complained.

"I wish I was here when you guys were in the academy," Minji laughed.

"Happy now? I told you," Ino said.

"You're leaving something out. The blush on your face tells it all" Temari smirked and she eyed Ino.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ino asked.

"You two kissed, didn't you?" Temari asked, already knowing the answer. When Ino put her face into her hands, the girls squealed loudly.

"Oh my God, Ino! I'm shocked!" Minji said.

"Shut up! I didn't kiss him! He kissed me!" Ino corrected, turning away from them all.

"So how was it?" Sakura asked. All the girls got quiet, waiting for Ino's response. Ino was quiet, refusing to respond. Seeing that they weren't going to give up, she sighed.

"It was okay, I guess. I mean it was quick kiss, nothing more," Ino explained.

"Ino, that means that he still likes you!" Sakura said.

"No he doesn't," Ino denied.

"Yes he does! He wouldn't do that for no reason!" Tenten added.

"Can we talk about somebody else, please? Minji has yet to tell anything and she had to be chased four times!" Ino pointed her finger at Minji, trying to direct the attention away from her.

"Yeah, Minji, start talking," Temari grinned.

"Who chased you?" Tenten asked.

"First it was Gaara and don't ask how I escaped. Then it was Sasuke, then Neji, then the three of them together plus Naruto and Lee. It was pretty hectic," Minji laughed.

"Neji chased you?" Tenten asked.

"Sasuke chased you?!" Sakura and Ino asked, completely jealous.

"Yeah, but it was nothing, trust me. We didn't even talk all that much, it was mainly me just mocking them. I used my uncle's trick t get away from all of them so it's really nothing to talk about," Minji explained, sighing.

"Really? I would think that you would have something to tell, seeing as you like three of them," Temari pointed out.

"I was trying to win, not flirt, Temari," Minji laughed.

"Hey guys, I'm going to go to the bathroom, Temari, can you walk me?" Tenten asked. Temari nodded and the two girls walked away. Sakura and Ino saw Minji sigh in relief.

"That was a close one," Minji said.

"What was a close one?" Sakura asked.

"Guys, if I tell you something, do you promise not to tell Tenten? You can tell Temari but you can't tell Tenten," Minji said. Ino and Sakura looked at each other, then nodded.

"Something happened between you and Neji, huh?" Ino asked.

"Let me explain," Minji started.

_I just love leaving chapters like this! Sorry for the late update! I'm in school now so my updates will be mainly on the weekends. Not to mention I have rehearsals soon for my school play! We're doing Guys and Dolls! So anyway, I know this chapter was a little cheesy but trust me it gets better. Too bad for Sakura that Lee didn't show up. Wonder what he's doing, lol. And what's up with Neji? He didn't come up with a solution and that's like his thing! He is the genius after all…Wonder what Hinata told him or did the girls talk give you the details already? Or did Hinata lie about what she told them too? So many misunderstandings it's CRAZY!Be prepared, in the next chapter, Minji spills the beans but how much does she spill? And Hinata's birthday is fast approaching, will Neji find out a solution so he won't have to kiss his cousin and be mortified in front of his friends, stop Kiba or Naruto from running their mouths __and__ make sure that he obeys his uncle's orders? That's a lot to carry. _


	24. Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter 24:

Can You Keep Secret?

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Well, let's just say that Neji and I had some…fun while he was chasing me," Minji laughed.

"Oh, what kind of fun are we talking about?" Ino asked.

"Well, I started to play a little game with Neji while he was trying to catch me. I told him that if he couldn't catch me, everytime I appeared…I would kiss him," Minji said. Sakura and Ino's mouths dropped.

"You did not do that," Sakura said.

"I did, actually, I think like four times," Minji tried to count.

"Where did you kiss him?" Ino asked.

"A lot of places. I kissed him once on the cheek, once on his head, once on his neck, and twice on the lips," Minji counted.

"I was afraid you were going to say that last part," Sakura said.

"Why, what's wrong?" Minji asked.

"We weren't really supposed to tell you but Tenten has a thing for Neji, so this is kind of awkward," Ino explained.

"And as I said on the first day I met you guys that I also have a thing for Neji. Tenten better step up her game when it comes to me," Minji said.

"Don't you also have a thing for Gaara?" Ino asked.

"And Sasuke?" Sakura asked, gritting her teeth.

"Yeah, but Neji is just a tad more interesting because of his eyes" Minji laughed, "Besides, he didn't seem to mind because he stood there a long time just letting me do it before he decided to do something. But promise me that you guys won't tell Tenten or Temari because Temari will tell Tenten and I don't want to get on the wrong side with Tenten, it would hurt her feelings to know what I did. Promise you won't tell?"

"I don't know…I mean I would kind of want to know if somebody did that to Sasuke," Sakura said.

"Me too," Ino agreed.

"Please? I'll tell her eventually but not now," Minji said. Sakura and Ino looked at each other before nodding.

"Thanks. Oh! They're coming back, remember, don't tell," Minji put her finger to her lips. Temari and Tenten came back and sat down.

"That was a long bathroom break," Minji said.

"I had to go too at the last minute" Temari said, "So what did you girls talk about?"

"Nothing much" Minji said, then she turned to Tenten, "Hey, Tenten, can we talk on the phone later? I have something to tell you."

"Sure, no problem," Tenten said. Sakura and Ino smiled, thinking she was going to tell Tenten what she had told them only moments ago. Suddenly, they all heard running and in seconds, Lee was in front them, smiling broadly and staring at Minji with determination. Sakura had to stifle a laughter, knowing what was about to happen.

"Minji, it is I, Rock Lee, here to ask you a very important question!" Lee said proudly. He grabbed Minji's hand and got down on one knee. Minji looked scared and the other girls gasped.

_No, Lee! I said a date, not marriage! _Sakura thought frantically.

"Minji, it would bring me me, Lee, great pleasure if you were to grace me with your presence at the park tomorrow, under the great oak tree, at 2pm, for a date!" Lee said and everyone relaxed, relieved that it wasn't a marriage proposal.

"Oh. You scared me for a minute there, Lee. And sure I'll go on a date with you tomorrow at 2," Minji smiled.

"Really?!" Lee asked, smiling brightly.

"I don't see a reason why I shouldn't," Minji said.

"Then it is settled. Now I must go home and train. See you later, ladies," Lee waved goodbye before he sped off.

"Wow, now **that **was scary," Temari laughed.

"I know. I thought he was going to propose to me for a minute there!" Minji said.

"Knowing Lee, that shouldn't be too far behind," Sakura smirked. The girls laughed.

_Meanwhile:_

Gaara was sitting on top of the house they were staying in. He was thinking about what Minji had said to him when he had caught her that night before letting her go, which he still couldn't pinpoint exactly why he had let her go.

Her father had raped her…that was some sick shit and it made Gaara's stomach turn. Killing somebody was more easier to handle, because he killed people if thye even looked at him wrong, he didn't see a reason why he shouldn't kill them. They didn't know who they were messing with…but to **rape **somebody? And not just anybody, but your own **daughter**? That was a little unheard of and unnecessary for Gaara to take. He knew that he and his sand demon were more than capable of probably doing the same exact shit, but he would never share his body with anybody else because he loved himself and only himself, so there was no reason for it. But he'd be damned if he ever even **thought **of raping Temari like Minji's dad had done to her. Temari was (even though he would never say it out loud) like a sister to him, even if he never really showed that she was. He wouldn't even consider doing something like that to her. Kill her, maybe, if she bugged him enough or dared to fight him for real, but he would never rape her. That was sick and dirty, and to him it was worse than killing somebody. He could see why Kakashi had to take custody over her. The only thing that was bothering Gaara about that whole story was Minji's mother. She just sounded like a pain in the ass, that was just about it, but how could you not notice that your own husband was attracted to something that you both made? Gaara grimaced, figuring that she probably **did **know and she most likely just sat there and let it happen. People like that made Gaara's skin burn with the desire to kill. He wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world but you just don't sit there and let somebody do that to another human being, unless of course it was his dad or somebody he despised even more. Gaara concluded that maybe he had let her go because he felt sorry for her-wait. Him? Gaara? Feeling **sorry **for somebody? Okay, now **that **was unheard of. But then again, so was anybody getting through his sand, which proved wrong, and so was anybody getting close enough to hug him, which Minji had managed to master, and he was _letting _her. Gaara groaned angrily. What the hell was going on with him?

_Later:_

Shikamaru had just got back from training and he was tired as hell. That game had worn him out and even though it was three days later, he was still tired. He stopped at the tea shop and after he ordered, he noticed that Temari was there as well.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at your own village by now?" Shikamaru asked, sitting next to her.

"Shouldn't you be minding your own damn business?" Temari retaliated.

"Whatever. It's a drag having you guys here all the time now," Shikamaru sighed.

"Please. You barely see us unless you manage to catch us or tell us something ahead of time. Besides, why do you care? Somebody want some privacy so they can be with Ino?" Temari asked. Shikmaru choked on his tea and blushed slightly.

"And just…just what do you mean by that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know. Word on the street is that you kissed Ino during manhunt. So did you?" Temari asked. She already knew the answer but she wanted to hear Shikamaru say it.

"Yeah…so what, it's not a big deal. I only did it because she basically asked for it," Shikamaru shrugged it off. Temari's eyebrows shot up.

"What do you mean she asked for it?" Temari asked.

"She kept asking what I would've done and so I got tired of it and I kissed her," Shikamaru explained quickly.

"Ino didn't say all that," Temari mumbled, sipping her tea.

"Come again?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nothing" Temari said, "So what are you two now? A couple? Couple on the down low? Friends with benefits?" Temari teased.

"We're just friends, shut up Temari," Shikamaru said.

"Well, dude, I don't get it. Why would you kiss her if you don't even like her like that?" Temari asked.

"I just did it because I used to like her and she asked what would I do so that's it. Besides, why do you care?" Shikamaru asked.

"No reason," Temari said.

"Somebody jealous?" Shikamari smirked.

"As if" Temari laughed, almost choking on her tea, "Nobody gets me jealous."

"Nobody but Minji," Shikamaru said.

"What's that supposed to mean, shadow boy?" Temari asked, smiling.

"I see the way you look at Minji everytime she hugs Gaara. You're jealous of that and it's written all over your face," Shikamaru explained.

"I'm not jealous, I'm just shocked it all," Temari said.

"Whatever you say," Shikamari laughed.

_Aww, wasn't that cute? Anways, there will be more chapters tomorrow! I have a four day weekend so good news for you! So what do you think is happening to Gaara hm? Anways, in the next chapter Minji tells Tenten things…that have nothing to do with what she told Sakura and Ino! Gasp! Then what is she going to tell her? Rate and Review to find out!_


	25. Gossip 101

Chapter 25:

Gossip 101

When Minji finally called Tenten, it was almost midnight. Luckily for her, Tenten picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Tenten asked.

"Hey, I'm sorry for calling you so late. My uncle had me doing some stupid practices that he wanted to try out before giving it to his Team 7. I got tired and took a nap by accident," Minji explained.

"That's okay, I wasn't sleeping. I was looking out my window," Tenten said.

"Oh okay. Good," Minji said.

"So what did you have to tell me?" Tenten asked. She really prayed that it had nothing to do with Neji and the game.

"I wasn't completely honest when I was talking about the game," Minji said.

"What happened?" Tenten asked. Oh no, she was right, it was about Neji.

"I sort of lied about what happened with Sasuke to Sakura and Ino," Minji said.

"Sasuke?" Tenten asked. Although she was relieved that it wasn't Neji.

"Yeah. You see when he was chasing me, me and him didn't kiss or anything, but we were really close to doing so," Minji said.

"What?! How?" Tenten asked.

"Because I almost fell of a tree but he caught me. When he was pulling me up me and him got really close to each other's faces and we kind of just sat like that and stared at each other. Trust me, I would've kissed him but I was more scared about me about to fall to my death so I ruined the moment," Minji explained.

"Wow, girl. Anything else? I'm sensing there's more," Tenten laughed.

"There is actually. That moment actually happened twice. The first time it happened was when I landed on him, or he landed on me, I don't remember. Then it was the tree incident," Minji admitted.

"There's still something else you're leaving out of this. I can tell," Tenten said.

"Damn, how can you tell?" Minji asked.

"I have my ways," Tenten replied. She heard Minji sigh into the phone.

"Well, there is another thing, but before I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Temari, Sakura or Ino! Matter of fact, don't tell them anything I've told you tonight. Promise?" Minji asked.

"Promise," Tenten said. Tenten actually felt bad about keeping a secret from her friends but she wanted to have some dirt of Minji that she could use later. If Neji found out that Minji was doing something with Sasuke, maybe it would be easier for her to pursue her man.

"Well, when Gaara, Naruto, Lee, Neji and Sasuke all went after me at once, which wasn't fun by the way, I almost fell to my death in the water after Neji momentarily paralyzed me. I can't swim, so you know I was terrified. Once again, Sasuke caught me and by the time he actually pulled me up, I was already crying," Minji said.

"Damn, how many times are you and Sasuke going to have a staring contest?" Tenten laughed.

"It wasn't a staring contest this time," Minji said.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"Well, when he saw me crying, Sasuke laughed and said 'alright, no need for the tears'…then he kissed me on the forehead," Minji said.

"What?! You're lying!" Tenten gasped.

"I swear on my life that I'm telling the truth. I was shocked myself. I was sitting there like 'did Sasuke just kiss me on the forehead?' It was creepy," Minji said.

"Yeah, and so out of place for Sasuke! That boy is as thick as stone when it comes to girls. He and Neji are both put into that same category," Tenten laughed.

"Which is why I'm surprised still," Minji smiled.

"Wow, girl, you and Sasuke keep having all these intimate moments," Tenten teased.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Minji asked, confused.

"Don't act all innocent. You and Sasuke keep kissing each other," Tenten grinned.

"What? He only kissed me once and that was on the forehead. I've never kissed Sasuke, although that would be awesome," Minji giggled.

"No. Sakura and Ino told me that they saw you and Sasuke macking lips at the tea shop a few days ago," Tenten said, then she laughed, and Minji couldn't have been more confused. When the hell was she kissing Sasuke like that at a tea shop? Then again, it could've looked like that when he was showing her that tea color trick…those sneaky little girls! They must've been watching her and Sasuke, spying on them and they though they saw them kissing! Minji didn't know what to think at first. Then, Minji grinned.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that. Don't say macking though, that makes it sound so gross!" Minji laughed.

"So it's true! You sneaky little girl!" Tenten giggled.

_Apparently I'm not the only sneaky little girl in here, _Minji thought, rolling her eyes.

"Well, yeah, that was all I had to tell you. Remember, don't tell Sakura, Ino or Temari. Got it?" Minji asked.

"Yeah, I got it. Bye," Tenten said.

"Bye," Minji hung up the phone and smirked. So Sakura and Ino want to go spreading rumors that she and Sasuke were making out? Fine. Let them think what they want to think, it only ups her game. She didn't appreciate misunderstandings but hey, couldn't do nothing about it…nothing that she wanted to do about it anyway. Suddenly, Hinata made her way into her mind and Minji decided that after her date with Lee, she would pay Hinata and Neji a visit.

_The next day:_

"So any particular reason you woke me up out of bed this morning?" Naruto asked, yawning. He wasn't used to getting up so damn early in the morning. Kiba had dragged him out of bed because he had to tell him about Hinata's outburst on him during the game a few nights ago. To get Naruto to focus, he brought him to the noodle shop.

"Naruto, I need you to focus because I have to tell you something important," Kiba said as Naruto dug into his noodles.

"And that is?" Naruto asked, slurping.

"Well, you know how I caught Hinata during manhunt?" Kiba asked. Naruto nodded, still eating and almost ready for his second bowl.

"Well, I think I got her mad at me," Kiba said.

"How did you do that?" Naruto asked, curious. Getting Hinata mad was like impossible.

"I asked her why she was going out with her cousin," Kiba replied. Naruto choked and spit out the noodles he was chewing.

"Kiba! You told her that you saw them kissing?!" Naruto asked. Kiba nodded.

"I had to know, Naruto! I had to know! But she wouldn't tell me! Then when I insulted Neji she got all pissed off and yelled at me, saying the kiss was an accident. Accident my ass. Even Akamaru agrees that it looked real," Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Man, I told her that you **thought **you saw them kissing," Naruto groaned.

"Well now she knows the truth and she's mad that their secret is exposed," Kiba explained.

"Um, Kiba, haven't you ever thought that maybe what you saw was a mistake or something?" Naruto asked.

"Nope. Why would Neji accidentally let Hinata kiss him on the cheek and then the lips? That's unheard of," Kiba said.

"But they're cousins," Naruto said.

"Yeah with benefits," Kiba huffed, he looked to his right and groaned, "Speaking of cousins, here comes the mean one right now."

"Morning, Neji!" Naruto said, spotting him also. Neji stopped walking and opened his eyes to find Naruto waving at him and Kiba once again, glaring at him. Kiba was running on thin ice with Neji, big time.

"Come join us for breakfast!" Naruto said.  
"What?" Kiba asked.

"I 'd rather eat with Gai-sensei and that's saying a lot," Neji scoffed.

"Good, nobody wants you here anyway," Kiba mumbled.

"What was that?" Neji asked.

"He said that's too bad. Come on, Neji come join us," Naruto insisted.

"You're not taking no for an answer are you?" Neji asked. When Naruto nodded his head, Neji groaned and sat down on the opposite side of Naruto.

"So why are you up so early?" Naruto asked.

"I had something important to talk about with Hinata," Neji explained. Kiba's head shot up.

"Really? And what was that?" Kiba asked.

"None of your damn business," Neji spat.

"Well seeing as she's my team mate I have a right to know," Kiba said. In truth, Kiba was only trying to look out for his friend.

"It's family stuff that doesn't concern you, Kiba. Team mate or not. Oh, and speaking of Hinata, Naruto, you and unfortunately Kiba and that dog are invited to celebrate her birthday coming up," Neji remembered.

"Really?! When's her birthday?" Naruto asked.

"In a few days. The dress is formal so please don't come looking like a fool," Neji said. He didn't know who he was implying it for though, Kiba or Naruto.

"What did you get her for her birthday? Or do you hate her side of the family so much that you've decided to skip it all together?" Kiba asked. Neji narrowed his eyes.

"That's also none of your damn business but if you must be nosy I bought my gift for her months ago," Neji replied coldly.

"Neji buying a gift for someone? That's so unheard of," Kiba said.

"So is you traveling without that mutt of yours," Neji said.

"Don't insult Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, and Akamaru growled angrily at Neji. Neji rolled his eyes which was barely visible.

"I don't have time for this," Neji said as he got up.

"Neji wait!" Naruto called.

"I'm leaving," Neji responded before jumping away. Naruto turned to Kiba.

"Kiba, what the hell?" Naruto asked.

"I don't like him, Naruto. He's dating his own cousin, don't you think that's sick? Even a little?" Kiba asked.

"Yes I do but you're treating this as a one sided thing. Neji can't force people to date him, so don't pretend like Hinata is innocent either," Naruto pointed. Kiba nodded in agreement. Naruto did have a point. But then again, Kiba hadn't seen Hinata in a while. He wondered where she was at. He decided that later he would go find her and maybe ask her what Neji talked to her about too?

_Kiba really needs to learn how to mind his own business lol or he's going to get into a lot of trouble. So what do you think? Minji now knows that Ino and Sakura have been saying that she was making out with Sasuke when she wasn't. Think she should straighten them out and tell the truth? Or let the lie continue? Also, Neji isn't going to keep taking Kiba's crap. Be prepared, in the next chapter, Minji goes on a date with Lee and Kiba talks to Hinata….which gets a little strange. Wanna find out how? Rate and review! Oh, and please vote on that poll! That thing is going to determine my choices or at least have a tiny say in who ends up with who at the end of this story. There's also something else in the next chapter but I'm not going to tell you! _


	26. Lee's Date

Chapter 26:

Lee's Date

Kiba had managed to get Hinata alone after they finished training. When he suggested that they go to the fountain to talk, Hinata agreed to his shock. When they both sat down, Kiba decided that it was now or never.

"What did…you want to talk…about?" Hinata asked, shy as usual.

"Hinata, what's going on with you and Neji?" Kiba asked. Hinata's head shot up.

"What?" Hinata asked.

"What's going on with you and Neji? Because I don't believe that your kiss was an accident. Once on the cheek was fine. But when you did it again, and then on the **lips**…Hinata, that's not normal. I don't care how close you guys are as cousins. Now what's going on?" Kiba asked.

"I…can't tell you," Hinata sighed.

"Why not?" Kiba asked.

"Because…we're not…allowed to say…anything," Hinata explained slowly. She didn't exactly know how she was going to explain her and Neji's current situation.

"Not allowed? So you two are going out?!" Kiba asked.

"No!" Hinata almost yelled, "It's not…like that…at all…I can't really…explain it to you."

"But why can't you?" Kiba asked.

"We're not…allowed. Just forget it," Hinata said.

"You expect me to forget seeing you and Neji kissi-"

"Stop saying that!" Hinata yelled. Kiba looked at her and realized that she was getting mad. Suddenly, Hinata turned around to see that Ino and Sakura were walking down the streets. Remembering what she told them, Hinata leaned on Kiba's shoulder, who looked totally confused.

"Um, what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"Can we…stop talking about…this?" Hinata asked.

"But-"

"Please…Kiba?" Hinata asked. She looked up at him and Kiba was still so confused as to why she was leaning on him. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw Ino and Sakura exit and then she resumed to sit up straight. Kiba thought to ask what was that about, but he decided against it.

"Alright. I'll let it go on one condition," Kiba said.

"What?" Hinata asked, hopeful.

"On the day of your birthday, I want you **and **Neji both to explain to me why what I saw was a complete mistake," Kiba offered. Hinata thought about that for a moment, trying to find a way around that. When she failed, she nodded. Besides, on her birthday it would all make sense so Kiba would just find out on his own.

"Deal," Hinata said. Kiba held out his hand and Hinata shook it, confident that now everything would be okay.

"Oh, wait…," Hinata trailed off.

"What is it?" Kiba asked.

"Can you not…be so mean…to Neji as well? I mean…he's still my…my cousin," Hinata added. Kiba groaned. He was having fun picking with Neji, especially because of seeing them kiss.

"Fine," Kiba sighed in defeat.

"Thank you," Hinata said before getting up and leaving quickly.

_Meanwhile:_

"Um, Lee, don't you think that flowers and the roses and the card is a bit too much?" Minji asked, laughing.

"I believe that a woman such as yourself should get everything her heart deserves," Lee pronounced.

"But I didn't ask for anything," Minji smiled.

"Still, for it was I, Lee, who asked you out on the date and so therefore I must provide the fair maiden with gifts," Lee responded.

"Okay, if you say so," Minji decided, putting the flowers and everything else aside, "By the way, I thought we were going to the park. Where did the restaurant come in?"

"It was a surprise for you," Lee replied.

"Oh? Aw, Lee, that's so sweet," Minji smiled.

"Did I happen to mention that your smile is beautiful? Gai-sensei has told me that when accompanying a lady, it is important to compliment her as much as you can," Lee announced.

"Actually, Lee, that's not always the case. You don't have to compliment a woman but you can if you feel like you need to," Minji corrected him.

"My Gai-sensei is never wrong," Lee said, and he seemed determine to never change his mind, so Minji let the subject drop.

"Hey Lee, may I ask you a question?" Minji asked.

"You may ask me any question you like, and for everyone that I don't give a satisfying answer for, I will do 100 push-ups for each one, and if not push-ups, then-"

"I get it Lee, trust me" Minji cut him off, almost laughing, "What I wanted to ask you was about Sakura."

"Sakura, yes, my true love," Lee confirmed.

"Right, right. If she's your 'true love', then how come you don't take her out on dates?" Minji asked.

"I must inform you that I, Lee, have in fact asked my love, Sakura, out on many dates…but unfortunately I have always been denied my offer," Lee looked down for a moment but then resumed his composure.

"That's too bad. I'm sure if she actually accepted one, she would really appreciate it," Minji said.

"Actually, Minji, my sweet, it was Sakura herself who suggested that I take you out on a date," Lee explained. Minji almost choked on her own breath.

"What?" Minji asked.

"Sakura told me, during manhunt of course, that she thought it would be best if I went out on a date with you, because you like me so much," Lee explained. Minji made a face that was incomprehensible but then recomposed herself.

"Did she now?" Minji asked, and Lee nodded. Minji grimaced on the inside.

_I am getting so sick of this Sakura chick _Minji thought angrily, _First she basically told me to stay away from Sasuke, spreading rumors that we were making out, and __**now **__she's forcing Lee to go on a date with me? This is so not going to go away smoothly. Sakura and the rest of that posse of hers needs to learn their place._

"That wasn't the right thing to say, was it?" Lee asked.

"What? No, it's alright. Sakura was just being nice. And I'm having a good time so don't worry about it" Minji smiled, then she hitched an idea, "So Lee, how do you feel about Tenten?"

"Tenten is my trusted team mate, along with Neji, and I have a great amount of respect for her," Lee announced.

"Do you see Tenten as more than a team mate?" Minji asked. Lee pondered that for a while then blushed.

"Sometimes. But it is not as strong as my love for Sakura!" Lee said.

"But that's still cute. How about instead of taking Sakura out, since she always says no, why don't you take Tenten out on a date?" Minji suggested, smiling evilly on the inside.

"I don't know. She might refuse me because of her crush on Neji," Lee said.

"What? You mean you know about that?" Minji asked, shocked.

"Of course I do! Tenten is my team mate and it is important for me to know these things," Lee informed.

"Well, does Neji like her back?" Minji asked.

"That is a question even I, Lee, can't answer," Lee said.

"Well, try asking her out, maybe you'll get somewhere," Minji smiled. Lee nodded and their food came. Minji and Lee then talked about nonsense stuff, and Minji was having a good time, so was Lee.

_I truly forgot what my other part was for this chapter so forgive me! Anyways, wasn't that date cute? And informative? These people really don't know how to keep their mouths shut. Anyways, in the next chapter, Lee tries to ask Tenten out on a date but something goes HORRIBLY WRONG! And Sakura and Sasuke have a little talk…but about what? Rate and Review to find out!_


	27. Things That Shouldn't Be Said

Chapter 27:

Things That Shouldn't Be Said

Kiba had skipped dinner and went straight to bed, still thinking about his conversation with Hinata. He hated to say this, but he still wasn't convinced that nothing was going on with Hinata and Neji. I mean, nobody just accidentally kisses like that, especially more than once. Hinata and Neji were both hiding something, and Kiba was determined to figure it out. Since Hinata proved to be of no use, he supposed that maybe it was time to ask Neji? Yeah, right. Neji would blunt out deny it and then the two would probably end up fighting. In truth, Kiba didn't really know why he cared so much about this, seeing as it technically had nothing to do with him. It truly was none of his business, or Naruto's either. But something that happened during their talk confused Kiba. One minute, Hinata was getting angry at him, and the next minute, she was leaning against his shoulder. Hinata's never done that before, and it sort of freaked him out to see that kind of affection come from her knowing about her crush on Naruto. Was she flirting with him or something? Did that even count as flirting? Can Hinata even flirt? So many questions that he didn't know the answer to, and it frustrated him. He knew he was probably never going to get an answer about Neji and Hinata…suddenly an idea hitched in Kiba's mind. Maybe if those two won't tell…would their family tell? On Hinata's birthday? Maybe?

_The next morning:_

Sakura didn't know how, but she had managed to get a splinter that was refusing to come out. She was walking around town, trying to pull it out to no avail. She sighed sadly, knowing her finger was going to swell if she didn't get it out soon. She looked up and was never more happier to see Sasuke at the juice bar. She ran over to him.

_Finally! Some alone time with Sasuke! _Sakura thought happily to herself. She skipped over the rest of the way.

"Hi Sasuke!" Sakura greeted warmly.

"Hey," Sasuke said, not looking at her.

"Um, Sasuke, I was wondering if you could help me," Sakura said.

"With what?" Sasuke asked, sipping his juice.

"Um…well you see…this is going to sound pretty lame but um…you see-ouch!" Sakura yelped. She realized that she had been pushing her fingers and she pushed the splinter one. Sasuke, hearing her yelp, looked and saw that she was clutching her finger.

"You have a splinter, don't you?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes and I can't pull it out!" Sakura whined sadly. Sasuke thought about what he was about to do for a moment, considering the consequences of his actions later. Seeing no other way, and he didn't want to leave her like that, he sighed.

"Here, give me your hand," Sasuke said. Sakura looked at him for a minute, then held out her hand, blushing. Sasuke grabbed it and pinched her fingers to see which one had the splinter. When she winced at the index finger, he found it.

"This is going to hurt. Try not to yell," Sasuke said. Sakura nodded and closed her eyes, her face already heating up at having Sasuke holding her finger. It wasn't romantic but to Sakura this was amazing. She clenched her teeth and whined when she felt Sasuke squeeze her finger. She felt his nail prick at the splinter and yelped just a tiny bit. Finally, she felt the splinter leave her finger and she opened her eyes.

"I'm surprised I was able to pull this out. It's so tiny it's barely visible," Sasuke said, holding the splinter before he tossed it to the ground. Sakura sucked on her finger to sooth the lingering pain in her finger.

"Thanks Sasuke," Sakura said.

"No problem," Sasuke said, turning back to his juice. Sakura thought about leaving, but realizing that this might be the only time she would ever be alone with Sasuke without any disruptions, she pulled up a chair next to him. Sasuke looked at her, confused.

"Please don't tell me you have more than one splinter on you," Sasuke said. Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"No, I just want to spend some time with you is all," Sakura said sheepishly. Usually she wasn't nervous around Sasuke, but that was because Naruto was always with them, so it was odd with it being just her and Sasuke.

"So, Sasuke, um…what do you think of the new girl?" Sakura asked, not knowing where else to start.

"The new girl? You mean Kakashi's niece?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. Minji. Sorry, her name flew from my mind for a minute," Sakura lied.

"Oh. She's fine, I guess. She's tricky, I'll give her that, and she's less annoying," Sasuke explained.

"Less annoying? Than who?" Sakura asked.

"You and Ino," Sasuke replied. Sakura looked down, seeing that answer coming.

"More annoying than Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto is one a whole different level of annoyance. He has his own level," Sasuke said, sipping his juice.

"Well, that's sort of an understatement, and that's pretty far up there," Sakura laughed. Sasuke smirked, also finding it funny. It got quiet again, as Sakura tried to figure out how to phrase her next question, which still involved Minji.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"What do you think of Minji?" Sakura asked.

"Didn't I already answer that?" Sasuke asked, getting annoyed quickly.

"No, I mean, what do you really think of her as. Like, do you find her pretty?" Sakura asked. Sasuke paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer her question.

"I guess," Sasuke finally shrugged.

"Is she prettier than me?" Sakura asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, you both have your own distinguishing features, alright?" Sasuke said.

"Like how?" Sakura asked.

"Well, for one thing, you have your hair. Nobody else in the village has your hair color, so that makes you stand out. Minji is Kakashi-sensei's niece, and knowing his reputation, that already makes her stand out by being related to him," Sasuke explained. Sakura's pride went up just a tad bit at the compliment. He didn't say if she was prettier than Minji, but that was good enough for her. She couldn't wait to rub this in Ino's face.

"You know, I always wondered why she was living with him now. I mean, she did say that she has parents back at her own village," Sakura said.

"Maybe something happened. You ever asked her?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really. I mean most of the time when us girls talk to her, we usually ask her about what she does with the guys," Sakura said, then realizing what she said, she clamped her hand over her mouth but it was too late. Sasuke looked at her with a weird look.

"What she does with the guys? What guys?" Sasuke asked.

"Um…you guys?" Sakura tried to sound innocent but it wasn't working and she knew it.

"Ask her what?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing personal! You know, like the day after we played manhunt we asked her how her chases went and stuff like that. And let me tell you, I think something's going on between her and Neji-nevermind!" Sakura suddenly changed course.

"What did you say?" Sasuke asked.

"I said nothing. I talk too much, you shouldn't even be listening to what I'm saying," Sakura giggled nervously.

"No, what did you say, Sakura? Something about Minji and Neji?" Sasuke asked, confused. He didn't know why he wanted to know so badly, but whatever it was Sakura was being difficult to tell it.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Sakura," Sasuke said, and Sakura sighed, knowing that it was too late and now she had to tell.

"Well, you see…when we were all talking yesterday…Minji was telling us about her being chased by Neji and…" Sakura trailed off but quickly picked it back up before Sasuke made her, "Minji said that they kissed."

"They kissed?" Sasuke asked. Sakura nodded. Sakura felt bad for saying this, but then something in her head changed course. Maybe if Sasuke knew that Minji had a thing going on with Neji, then he would hate Minji and like her instead! Suddenly, Sakura perked up.

"Well, to be truthful, Minji kissed him. More than once too! She told us she kissed him on the lips like three times, the forehead twice, one time on his neck, and I think she kissed his cheek too, I don't know. Minji was talking so fast I couldn't understand most of it," Sakura told.

"And Neji was letting her?" Sasuke asked.

"Yuppers. She said he just sat there and it kind of seemed like he was enjoying it," Sakura lied. Sasuke shook his head smirking.

"Who would've thought Neji had it in him," Sasuke said.

"I know! And the worse thing about it is that even though that happened, she went on a date with Lee yesterday," Sakura said, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe it.

"Huh? That's a little odd," Sasuke said. He knew he really shouldn't be asking about all this, but now he was curious. What exactly was Minji trying to pull?

"Hey, that's all her business. But you can go ask her yourself if you want," Sakura said.

"I'd rather not. That's a bothersome," Sasuke said. His juice was nowhere near finished and he pushed it over to Sakura.

"Here, you can drink the rest, I'm leaving," Sasuke said, hopping off the stool and walking away. Meanwhile, Sakura was admiring the straw as she sipped from it, seeing this as an indirect kiss.

_At Gai-sensei's Training Grounds:_

"Alright! That was good!" Gai shouted, "Now I've got to go now, I've got someone to talk to. Have a nice day!"

"We will, Sensei!" Lee yelled proudly.

"He always had someone to talk to," Tenten complained.

"It's probably himself," Neji said. His eyes were closed and he was sitting Indian style under the tree, leaning against it.

"You're seriously not about to meditate are you?" Tenten asked.

"No. I'm resting my eyes," Neji said, and Tenten nodded. She knew he was actually just resting his eyes, for he had overused his byakugan thanks to Gai-sensei who had fogged up the place, making it hard for them to see an attack for training.

"I'll be back. I'm going to go get some water," Tenten said. Neji nodded and Tenten walked away. When she was clear from view, Lee walked up to Neji.

"What do you want Lee?" Neji asked.

"I have a favor to ask of you," Lee said quietly.

"And that is?" Neji asked, not bothering to open his eyes. Lee reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"I'm too scared to do it on my own, but when Tenten comes back, can you give this letter to her? It's kind of important," Lee asked.

"What letter?" Neji asked.

"If you'd open your eyes you would be able to see, but I know you're resting them so I'll just place the letter beside you. Promise you'll give it to Tenten when she returns?" Lee asked.

"Whatever," Neji sighed. Lee, satisfied with that answer, placed the letter beside Neji and left. Tenten came back some time later.

"Hey, try not to fall asleep right there, okay?" Tenten joked, seeing that Neji had yet to move. She noticed the letter beside him and picked it up.

"What's this?" Tenten asked.

"A letter for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bed to get to. Good day to you," Neji said finally opening his eyes and leaving. Tenten stared at the letter. A letter for her? Curious, she opened it. It read:

_Dear Tenten__,_

_For quite some time, I've had my eye on you but I usually never show it. But now I'm tired of playing around. I want to go on a date with you, and if you accept this invitation, then meet me tomorrow at the training grounds at 4pm. If not, then I'll have my answer._

_Hope to see you there._

The letter had no signature, but Tenten didn't need one to know who it was from. In fact, she was so happy, she actually squealed in delight.

"I knew it! I just knew it! I've got to tell the girls!" Tenten yelled happily. She ran off, smiling.

_A date with Neji! How romantic! _She thought.

_Uh-oh…that sure wasn't supposed to happen! So what do you guys think of this? Things are really starting to heat up. Sakura can't seem to keep her mouth shut either. But why does Sasuke care so much? Please rate and review! In the next chapter, Temari has a talk with Gaara about Minji, and speaking of Minji, what exactly is that child doing right now? And with Naruto?_


	28. No AnswerNo Response

Chapter 28:

No Answer…No Response

Naruto had managed to catch Minji the next day at the noodle shop.

_Yes! Maybe now me and her can have some alone time! _Naruto thought happily. He knew at the end of the day that he was still going to chase after Sakura but it couldn't hurt to try some other little ladies, right? Naruto saddled himself right up to Minji just as her noodles arrived.

"One order of noodles, please…Oh, hey, Minji!" Naruto said, pretended to just now notice her.

"Hi, Naruto! I would ask what brought you over here but my uncle already explained that," Minji smiled.

"Your uncle talks too much" Naruto mumbled, "So how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while," Naruto said.

"Just doing stuff. I''ve been hanging out with the other girls and I went on a date with Lee yesterday-"

"What?! That slimy bushy brow asked you on a date and you accepted?!" Naruto half shouted. Minji gave him an odd look then laughed.

"He's not slimy, Naruto. He was actually really sweet…and really informative," Minji added.

"Did you have to go on a date with him though?" Naruto complained.

"It was nothing to it, Naruto. I had fun and so did he, so that's all that matters," Minji smiled.

"If you say so" Naruto said, "So, actually, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Shoot," Minji said as Naruto's noodles arrived.

"Exactly how long are you staying with Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. He saw Minji pause for a moment but then she hid it back.

"Until I'm old enough to move out on my own," Minji replied.

"But don't you have a family back at the other village where you came from?" Naruto asked.

"I do but…there were some complications so I moved in with my uncle," Minji summed up.

"Oh, that's too bad… well, you still have some part of your family to turn to," Naruto smiled.

"Don't you?" Minji asked. Naruto's smile faltered for a minute, but then he regained his posture.

"Not exactly. You see, both my parents are dead," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Minji pouted.

"No, really, it's okay. I'm used to the fact by now. Besides, I have a huge family right now, even if none of them are related to me by blood. I'm sure Sasuke feels the same way too," Naruto added.

"Why Sasuke?" Minji asked.

"Don't you know? Sasuke's whole clan was killed by somebody…I'm not exactly sure on the details," Naruto explained.

"That's horrible!" Minji exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know, but don't talk to him about it, it'll get on his nerves," Naruto said.  
"Well, can you blame him? I wouldn't want to talk about something like that either. I don't even like talking about my own family," Minji related to herself.

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"I just don't. It's not all butterflies and hop scotch," Minji shrugged it off and Naruto thought better to just let the conversation on that end right there.

"So, back to this date with Lee, did you two kiss or something?" Naruto asked.

"What? No, that never happened. I'm telling the truth when I say this. The only person I have kissed since I got here was Neji, and you saw that for yourself," Minji said.

"Lucky bastard," Naruto mumbled.

"What was that?" Minji asked.

"He didn't confess his undying love for you, did he?" Naruto asked instead.

"Nope, but I convinced him to go ask Tenten out on a date," Minji said. Her noodle bowl was already empty and not surprisingly, so was Naruto's.

"Tenten? Why her? Lee likes Sakura," Naruto pointed out.

"Yeah, but what's the point in that when Sakura always shoots him down? So I suggested that maybe he should try somebody new, and I suggested Tenten," Minji explained.

"Well, now that I think about it, Lee does get shot down by Sakura a lot. But that's only because Sakura is waiting for Sasuke to 'open his eyes' or some lovey dovey stuff like that," Naruto grimaced.

"She'll be waiting a long ass time then," Minji mumbled.

_Because according to her, Sasuke and I were already making out, _Minji added in her head.

"So, Naruto-"

"Minji! Hey Minji!" They heard a voice call from behind them. They turned to see Tenten with a huge smile on her face running up to them. When she finally reached them, she bent over to catch her breath.

"Hi, Tenten. What's up?" Minji asked. Tenten took a few more breaths, then she finally stood up.

"Um, Naruto? Do you mind? I kind of want to talk to Minji alone," Tenten asked sweetly.

"Whatever. I got some more snoring to catch up on anyway. See ya, ladies," Naruto said walking away. When he was out of sight, Minji turned back to Tenten.

"And what's got **you **so happy?" Minji asked, smiling.

"You will never believe what happened yesterday!" Tenten squealed happily.

"Tell me," Minji said. Tenten took a deep breath before answering.

"While we were leaving the training grounds yesterday, I passed Neji under the tree because he was resting his eyes and I found a letter next to him. I picked it up and asked what was it and he got up and said 'A letter for you'. Before I finished reading it he walked away but I see why!" Tenten beamed.  
"What did the letter say?" Minji asked. Her smile was starting to become fake, seeing as she wasn't liking where this was going at all.

"Neji asked me out on a date! By letter, but that doesn't matter! I'm so excited!" Tenten squealed, jumping up and down.

"Tenten, that's great!" Minji forced another smile and even hugged her. But the whole time, one question was running through Minji's mind:

_Has Neji lost his mind? _

_Meanwhile:_

When Temari made sure that Kankuro was nowhere in sight, she made her way outside to find Gaara on the roof, like he usually is. He was up there since last night but she could care less about why. She was on a mission, and it was about time Gaara start having some serious discussions with him. She slowly climbed up the ladder leading to the roof. When she got to the top, Gaara was laying on his back with his hands behind his head. One of his legs was bent and he was staring at the moving clouds. Temari wondered if he went to sleep last night or if he's been sitting like that since God knows when.

"Hey, Gaara…," Temari said. Gaara only turned to look at her then he refocused on the sky.

"Mind if I take a seat next to you?" Temari asked. When she still got no answer, she sat down next to him anyway. She didn't know why she was being so cautious, as if she was never alone with Gaara before. He was her brother after all, if anything they should be closer than what they are. Maybe it was because of what she wanted to talk to him about.

"So, you've been searching the skies for some answers or something? I promise you that you won't find any. Trust me, I've tried many nights," Temari laughed.

"I know," Gaara replied. Temari stopped laughing and looked at him. What did he mean he knows?

"What?" Temari asked.

"I hear you every time you get out of bed at night before I do. You sit up here and talk to yourself all the time," Gaara said. Temari could feel her face go red, but she pushed it back down.

"Somebody spying on me or something?" Temari laughed.

"Your recent conversations have been bashing Kankuro lately," Gaara said. Temari had to get over the fact that he just used the word 'bashing' but more importantly, Gaara was probably going to wonder why Temari was talking bad about their brother.

"You want an explanation, don't you?" Temari asked.

"If that's what you came up here for," Gaara said, still not facing her.

"Well, that wasn't it, but you should probably know anyway. I've actually been pretty mad at him. You know sometimes Kankuro really doesn't know how to listen to people when it's really important. You know what he thought? He thought that I had a crush on you! Ha! I think somebody forgot that we're related!" Temari laughed. She expected a reaction out of Gaara but got nothing and soon her laughter died down quicker than she wanted it to.

"Isn't that weird?" Temari asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time Kankuro thought something along those lines," Gaara said, his eyes closing but Temari knew better than to think he was going to sleep.

"Really? Well, every time he says it, he's wrong. I mean, I don't know how many times we have to go through this. I mean, if he would've stayed long enough, he would learned that I'm actually mad at you for-nevermind," Temari said, immediately shutting up. It was quiet for a minute, a really long minute. Temari was thinking about getting up and leaving, and she was about halfway getting up when she felt a cold hand grab her wrist.

"You're going to finish that sentence," Gaara said, his eyes still closed. It was an order, not a question. Temari knew better than to get him mad and sat back down.

_Damn, how is it that he's the youngest and yet he's still somewhat boss? _Temari asked in her head. She looked away and tried to put her question in the most non-offensive way possible.

"So…what's going with you and Minji?" Temari asked slowly.

"I wasn't aware there was something going on," Gaara said.

"Not like that…I mean, it's just that…you seem more…I guess more open with her than you are with Kankuro and I," Temari said.

"Open?" Gaara repeated, not sure he understood what she was talking about. Last where he checked, he hadn't shared anything personal with Minji no more than Kankuro and Temari already know about him. Minji isn't even aware there's a demon inside him.

"I don't really have any evidence to back this all up except one which, quite frankly, makes me a little upset…Why do you let Minji hug you?" Temari finally asked. That's what she came up here for.

"**That's **what you came up here for? Something as ridicule as that?" Gaara asked, and there was a hint of irritation in his voice.

"I know you don't see it as a big deal, but with Kankuro being your brother and I your sister, you don't even let us wish you a happy birthday half the time, let alone hug you. So I'm curious as to how we aren't allowed to even let people know we're siblings but yet you can let some girl, who just got here, hug you and not do a thing about it," Temari explained, then she closed her eyes, waiting for the sand to wrap around her neck and choke her. But when nothing happened for quite a while, she peeked over at Gaara. His eyes were finally open, but he was back to staring at the sky as if everything Temari just said went in one ear and out the other.

"Well, aren't you going to give me an answer?" Temari asked, getting a little mad herself. Gaara continued to stare at the sky.

"Gaara? Are you going to give me an answer?" Temari tried again, which proved useless. He just continued to stare and Temari was just about to yell at him, whether he was 'boss' or not when-

"Well, why don't you?" Gaara asked.

"Huh?" Temari asked, confused.

"Why don't you hug me? If it's that big of a deal," Gaara said calmly.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? You won't-"

"I never said you couldn't hug me, it's just because of my appearance and the way I present myself that you and Kankuro just choose not to. I never said anything of the sort," Gaara interrupted her.

"Well, you don't look like the type of person that would let anybody do that," Temari justified herself.

"I just explained that, Temari. If that's all you came up here to complain about then leave me," Gaara said. Temari stood up, angry.

"Now hold on, little bro, you can't just kick me off the roof," Temari said.

"You'd rather I throw you?" Gaara asked, and without waiting for an answer, his sand picked Temari up and put her on the ground in front of the house they were staying in. Temari just stood there, knowing better than to challenge him to a fight. She sighed angrily and then went into the house, even more mad at Gaara than she already was, because to her, he completely avoided the question.

_I know you've been waiting quite a while, haven't you? But don't worry, I keep my promises when I say I'm gonna finish all these stories. So tell me what you think is gonna happen next, huh? I wanna see some long comments! In the next chapter, Tenten is in for a complete shock, and all the girls finally decide to have a real chat with Minji and find out what this girl is really about. Will Minji talk? Tune in the next chapter. Please rate and review! Don't forget to vote on that poll! I really need that to be done! It's on my profile!_


	29. What Is Your Problem!

Chapter 29:

What Is Your Problem?!

Sasuke had awoken the next morning feeling something that he couldn't place. He had again had a dream about that night everyone played man hunt. It was when he was chasing after Minji and when she almost fell off the tree. Except in his dream, instead of her complaining that she was going to fall, Sasuke had actually leaned in and kissed her. Sasuke had no idea why the hell he was having dreams like that, but it wasn't a complete shock to him either. Although he would never tell anybody, Sasuke was actually getting used to all the girls wanting him just because of who he was and by him being so mysterious and such. So he wasn't going to lie to himself when he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed on that night at the sleepover when Minji had kissed Neji instead of him, which never happens. Sasuke wasn't sure why he cared so much about it, but it bothered him way more than he would usually let things bother him. He was even bothered when Sakura told him about Minji and Neji and what happened during the manhunt before he was chasing her. Was he actually feeling…jealous? No! He couldn't be…he was Sasuke, and Sasuke doesn't get jealous…

_Meanwhile:_

Hinata found her way to Neji's room when her father was still sleeping. She hadn't spoken to him since that talk in the garden and now she didn't know what he was up to, but she knew that he was stressed. Neji was a natural born genius, so it bothered him when he didn't know what to do about a situation, like the current one they were in. This had only happened to Neji on other time, and Hinata didn't like remembering what had happened when that took place, so she could only pray that Neji had finally come up with a solution. She quietly knocked on his door and when she got no answer, she peeked inside. Neji was on the floor, meditating. Hinata knew that she shouldn't interrupt him, but she had to. She lightly tapped him on the shoulder, and he stopped and turned his head.

"What do you want, Hinata?" Neji asked, obviously irritated that she had interrupted his hobby.

"Um…I was wondering if you…found a solution yet," Hinata said, slightly stepping back from seeing the look on his face, which wasn't good.

"Do I look like I found a damn solution yet? No. Why do you think I'm meditating?" Neji asked.

"Because that's your hobby?" Hinata asked. Neji rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately, your birthday is approaching faster than I had hoped, so it's doing nothing but causing stress for me. And then we have Kiba who obviously doesn't know that he's digging his own grave-"

"Um, Neji, I don't think you have to worry about that anymore," Hinata said.

"Why not?" Neji asked.

"Kiba and I made an agreement…so it's fine," Hinata explained.

"Whatever. He says one more wrong thing and I'm putting him six feet under," Neji said, then he sighed in frustration.

"This is the second time in my life that I really have no idea what to do," Neji said, more to himself than to Hinata.

"Neji, I'm sure you'll think of something," Hinata encouraged.

"I'm always the one thinking of something. It's like everyone in this damn family was dumb until I was born. Next thing you know, I'm suddenly the one with all the answers and I'm not even in the right branch of the family. It makes no fucking sense. Doesn't this family ever thing for themselves? Why is it that I'm always the one coming up with something when something happens? Natural born genius or not, it's starting to get to me and I don't like it. I don't **have **all damn answers all the time, and apparently when I don't and something goes wrong, Neji is the one who gets blamed because **I **was supposed to do something about it," Neji ranted, completely angry.

"Neji, it's not like that," Hinata said.

"Yes the hell it is, you just don't see it because they're all too busy pampering your ass," Neji retorted.

"Well, if you want…I have a tiny suggestion," Hinata said.

"Oh really? And what's that?" Neji asked.

"Why don't you just say you forgot to do it?" Hinata asked. For a moment, Neji just stared at her, then for the first time in a long time…Neji actually laughed.

"Forgot?! Yeah right! Maybe when Hell freezes over! Hinata, what the hell do I, Neji the genius, look like telling your father and my uncle that I forgot to do something that I was told? My punishment would be worse than this damn mark on my forehead! Are you nuts? That's stupid crap Naruto would be more likely to say-" Neji cut himself off when he realized who he just named…Naruto! That was it! Neji rose to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Hinata asked as he walked past her.

"Going to go do something. Don't follow me or I'll kill you," Neji threatened before leaving Hinata in his room, looking confused.

_Later:_

Lee made sure that everything was ready. He was dressed nice, he had forced himself to stop working out early for the first time (he was going to punish himself for that later), and he had set up a nice picnic in the training grounds. It was going to go smoothly, he hoped. He sense somebody walking towards him and found it to be only Neji.

"Neji? What are you doing here?" Lee asked.

"I was looking for Naruto all day. Have you seen him, Lee?" Neji asked.

"**You're **looking for Naruto? That's quite surprising," Lee said.

"I know, I know. But have you seen him?" Neji asked.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I have not," Lee said. Neji looked at him, now realizing what he was wearing.

"Um, Lee, why are you dressed as such?" Neji asked. Before Lee could answer, suddenly, a squirrel jumped up on Lee and stole the flowers he had in his hand and ran off.

"Come back you demon!" Lee shouted as he ran off, "Neji, stay there and make sure no other squirrels get anything! Thanks!"

"Lee, I-" Neji stopped himself, for Lee was already gone. He looked at the picnic and wondered what the hell Lee was doing with all this. He rolled his eyes and sat down, realizing that finding Naruto was going to have to wait. He was deciding whether to meditate or not when he heard footsteps approaching him. He opened his eyes and turned to find Minji. Minji stopped, noticing him too, and looked strangely at the picnic.

"Um, hi?" Minji asked.

"This isn't mine, if that's what you're thinking. It's Lee's," Neji straightened out.

"Oh, so he's doing what I told him to afterall," Minji smiled.

"You told Lee to do something?" Neji asked.

"Yuppers. I told him thathe should go out on a date with someone," Minji explained.

"That explains that hideous outfit he was wearing," Neji mumbled, "So what are you doing over here?"

"I was escaping from my uncle. He got into one of his books again and was just dying to show me something until I took off running. I hope he gave up searching for me," Minji laughed.

"If your uncle was my uncle, he would be six feet under by now," Neji said.

"You look lonely. Want some company until Lee gets here?" Minji asked.

"Lonely? Being alone is about the best thing for me right now," Neji said.

"Well, too bad, I'm taking you off your personal medication, now move over," Minji said as she sat down.

"Since you're here, have you seen Naruto?" Neji asked, hoping that maybe she knew. He really needed to talk to him.

"Why you looking for Naruto? You don't even like him," Minji pointed out.

"Yes, but I need to talk to him about something," Neji said.

"Does this something have to do with whatever it was that you and Hinata were upset about at my sleepover?" Minji asked.

"That is still none of your business," Neji repeated.

"Why don't you tell somebody? I mean, it's not good to hold a lot of things in. Trust me, I should know," Minji said.

"You'll find out when **I **find out how to solve it," Neji said.

"But why do you have to solve it first? Maybe you really just don't have a solution and somebody else does. That's what my uncle always told me. If you can't think of a solution, go find one from somebody else. So that way the guilt doesn't land on you when things go wrong," Minji explained with a smile, and Neji looked at her, wondering if maybe she had been outside his window when he was complaining about being the one to come up with solutions, because what she just said made absolute sense. But he wasn't about to let her know that.

"I'm a natural born genius, and that means I figure out everything," Neji said.

"Your point? I'm a natural born girl but that doesn't mean I play with dolls and paint my nails. People make mistakes, it's in our nature to do that. So why put all this pressure on yourself to come up with something if you truly don't know what to do? Besides, I'm pretty sure you don't know everything," Minji said.

"And how would you know that?" Neji asked.

"I'll prove it," Minji said, and without warning, she reached over and covered his eyes.

"Now, without trying to move my hand and without using that damn eye trick you have, tell me what color my eyes are," Minji ordered. Neji's eyebrows creased together, trying to figure out why she wanted him to do that.

"And why would I know something like that?" Neji asked.

"You said you're a natural born genius and that means you figure out everything which means you must know everything. So tell me what color are my eyes," Minji laughed. Neji took a long moment, clearly forgetting whatever color her eyes really were. But she had proved her point, and Neji knew it.

"I don't know, green?" Neji guessed, shrugging. Minji took her hand away from his eyes.

"Nope! They're dark pink! See, you don't know everything. And I'm fine with the fact that you guessed my eye color wrong, just like people should be okay if you don't come up with a solution. Have I made my point?" Minji asked.

"That was a cheap shot," Neji decided.

"Was not!" Minji giggled, pushing Neji to the side although he didn't move much.

On the other side of the training grounds, Tenten was walking up the hill, extremely excited to finally go on a date with Neji. She was dressed so nicely too. Her hair was out and it was straightened, she had replaced her usual get up with a ruffled shirt and jeans, and she was wearing sneakers. She figured a skirt and heels were too much, and she wasn't into all that anyway, so what she had on was perfect. She just hoped Neji would like it. She wondered if he had even bothered to dress up, but it didn't sound like he would.

_I can't wait! I'm so excited! I'm finally going to be alone with Neji! It'll be so romantic, and maybe…JUST maybe he'll kiss me! Omigod! I can't wait! This is going to be so-_

Tenten's train of thoughts was instantly shattered when she got to the top of the hill and the scene in front of her was one of her worst nightmares. Neji was there alright, with a picnic and everything (wasn't dressed up like she predicted)…but Minji was there as well. As a matter of fact, from her view, Minji was laughing at something Neji had said, and he pushed him to his side. He looked at her, surprised at her strength, then got back up and flicked her in the nose. Minji covered her nose with both hands and was laughing while Neji was rolling his eyes in that amused roll he sometimes uses on Tenten and Lee.

It looked like **they **were the ones on the date.

"What the hell!" Tenten suddenly shouted, surprising both Neji and Minji.

"Tenten, you're here!" Minji cheered, wondering why Lee hadn't come back yet. Suddenly, she caught on what all this must've looked like, but before she could get a word in, Tenten ranted.

"Minji, how could you?! You knew what was happening today, you **knew**! You were the only one that I told because I thought that you would be happy for me! But I guess not seeing all this! Do you not like me or something?! How could you?!" Tenten shouted angrily at her.

"Tenten, wait a second, this isn't-"

"Don't give me that 'this isn't what it looks like' crap, because that line is so old, especially for you! I mean, gosh, I knew there was something sneaky about you but I didn't know you would go this far!" Tenten yelled.

"Tenten, why the hell are you screaming?" Neji asked, his eyes closed as he was rubbing his temples, obviously getting a headache from all this.

"Neji, are you seriously asking me why?! You should already know! You're the one who gave me that damn letter in the first place! I thought you were being serious! Was this all a joke to you?! Did you and Lee make a bet or something to see if it would work?!" Tenten shouted at him.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" Neji asked.

"That letter you gave to me at the training grounds that day! That letter asking me out on a date! I thought you were being sincere about it!" Tenten yelled, tears already on the verge of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, what? You thought that letter was from me?" Neji asked.

"Who the hell else would it be from?" Tenten asked, sniffling.

"Tenten, let me explain," Minji cut in.

"Explain what? How you managed to slither your way over and 'accidentally' just happen to be here when you knew what was going on today?! Well guess what, I don't want to hear it! You've been doing nothing but ruining everything since you got here so you know what? Forget you! You and I are no longer friends! And I hope you two live happily ever after!" Tenten shouted, tears streaming down her face as she ran back down the hill. It was quiet for a moment, Minji biting her lip, extremely upset.

"What the hell just happened?" Neji asked after another minute of silence. Minji sighed and then turned to Neji.

"Um, I told Lee that since he had the tiniest crush on Tenten that he should take her out on a date…and I guess when he gave her the letter asking her out-"

"So that's what was in that letter he told me to give to her?" Neji asked.

"Yeah…and I guess she thought the letter was from you," Minji said quietly, putting her head down.

"But why would she get so ma-…oh no," Neji pinched his nose, finally putting all the pieces together. If he didn't know what to do about Hinata's birthday, then he **definitely **didn't know what the hell to do now.

_Finally! I'm back! Told you I wasn't going to give up on you guys! So what do you all think? Let's get some lengthy reviews! In the next chapter, the day has finally come! Hinata's birthday! Will everyone finally just lose it and explode? Wait and find out!_


	30. Hinata's Birthday Part I

Chapter 30:

Hinata's Birthday Part I

Neji checked himself one more time in the mirror before heading downstairs. After all these long weeks of worrying about that damned kiss, Neji had finally come up with a fool proof solution, which is why he was, for the first time, happy to find out that Naruto had showed up first to the party. The party was only in the beginning swing, because the main event would be Hinata making her debut in that outfit that, by accident, Neji had seen prior to today. The birthday kiss wouldn't take place in front of everyone; that much he was sure of. That kind of thing was family only, and it would happen after Hinata had made her grand opening. After all, the presents were given separately and in order. First it was friends, then later on it was family, which took place in the privacy of the house. Neji felt grateful that his uncle had realized that Neji's particular 'gift' was to be seen only by family eyes, and he was happy about that. Now if he could just get Naruto away from the buffet table long enough to talk to him…

"Neji! Don't you look all formal!" He heard a girl giggle from behind him. He turned towards the noise and there was Sakura, all dressed up in a pink dress with flats and her hair had a bow in it instead of her headband.

"Greetings to you too, now if you'll excuse me, I have something to speak to Naruto about," Neji waved it off, but Sakura grabbed his hand before he could move any further.

"Naruto got here before I did? Rats! I owe him money now," Sakura pouted.

"Where's your gift?" Neji asked, although he didn't really care.

"I already put it on the table. Well, actually, your aunt, I think it was your aunt, took it from me when I got to the fence and put it over there for me," Sakura explained.

"Did you see anybody else on your way here?" Neji asked.

"Yeah. They're around the corner. What, you nervous or something?" Sakura asked.

"Nervous about what? It's Hinata's birthday. If anything, she's probably upstairs sweating a waterfall," Neji mumbled. He saw two more faces come in through the fence and realized that it was Lee and Kiba.

"Where's your dog, Kiba? Doesn't he follow you everywhere you go?" Neji asked as they approached them.

"I told Akamaru to stay home just in case he ends up eating everyone's food. Why, you like the dog better than me?" Kiba asked.

"You don't want me to answer that," Neji sneered. Sensing some tension in the air, Sakura quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, Lee, where's Tenten?" Sakura asked.

"I'm sorry to inform you but I have no idea where she could be. She was supposed to come with me but I ran into Kiba instead," Lee informed.

"I'll be surprised if she shows up at all," Neji said.

"Why's that?" Sakura asked.

"Long story that I don't feel like explaining," Neji waved the issue off. He did wonder if she would show up though. After that whole picnic issue, he would be surprised if she did bother to come. Seeing his chance, Neji walked away from everybody and found Naruto, at the buffet table.

"Naruto, I need to talk to you," Neji said.

"Awout what?" Naruto asked, his face completely stuffed with food. Neji hit him upside the head and Naruto spit the food out.

"Hey!" Naruto complained.

"Stop stuffing your face for a moment. I need to talk to you," Neji said. Naruto was about to ignore him for a second, but seeing the serious look on his face told Naruto otherwise. He followed Neji to a corner where Neji took a deep breath before speaking.

"Look, you know how Kiba told you that he saw Hinata and I kissing on the roof a long while ago?" Neji asked. Naruto nodded, almost forgetting about that.

"Wait, it was true? He wasn't lying?!" Naruto asked, shocked.

"Not in the way that he explained it to you. It was an accident. Listen, I need you to do me a favor. The only reason why that happened was because of today. Today, since I'm the only one closest to Hinata's age, it's a tradition in this family that the closest age wise relative has to kiss the birthday person on the lips," Neji explained, hoping that nobody was honing in on their situation.

"Wait, I don't get it," Naruto said. Neji groaned.

"It means, idiot, that I have to kiss Hinata on the lips," Neji said through gritted teeth.

"Gross! Aren't you two related?!" Naruto gagged.

"Exactly, you imbecile. Which is exactly why I have a favor to ask of you. Using your clone jutsu, I want you to disguise yourself as me and do the kiss," Neji explained.

"What? You want **me **to kiss Hinata in place of you? Won't your family prefer it be you?" Naruto asked.

"Did you not hear me just now? I said use your clone jutsu. That way, you'll look like me but it'll be you and not me. That way, I won't have to kiss my own cousin," Neji explained.

"What am I getting out of this?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"This" Neji said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. He gave it to Naruto, "This is a coupon for the noodles shop. It lets you get one free bowl of noodles everyday for an entire month. Now do we have a deal?"

The stars flying through Naruto's eyes was enough to tell him that it was a deal.

"Good. Now I'll tell you when I need you. Got it?" Neji asked. Naruto nodded slowly, and headed back to the buffet table, still star gazing at the coupon. Neji returned to the others and realized that a lot of people had shown up in that short time. Everyone was there…except for Tenten. Neji was starting to get mad now. He understood that Tenten was mad at him ( technically for no reason) yes, but that gave no reason for her to disregard his cousin's birthday. If he couldn't skip it then neither could any of his teammates. He was about to go call her but he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Minji standing in front of him. Her hair was curly and she had a bow in her hair. She was wearing light purple short kimono that was decorated with black designs and she had on black flats.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Minji asked.

"Avoiding my uncle," Neji lied.

"Where's Hinata?" Minji asked.

"She hasn't made her debut yet. It's going to be a while," Neji informed her.

"That's too bad. I want to see her," Minji complained.

"Hey, you haven't seen Tenten by any chance, have you?" Neji asked.

"I wish. We need to talk to her about what happened," Minji replied.

"She better show up," Neji said. He saw his aunt approaching him.

"Ah, Neji, how is my nephew?" his aunt asked.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Neji asked, trying to be polite.

"I'm in a bit of a rut. You see, I've been working on this puzzle for two days now and I can't seem to get it. Do you think you could do it for me? Afterall, you are the natural genius in the family," His aunt asked.

"Um, I guess," Neji said, taking the paper from her. It was a crossword puzzle and as Neji looked at it, he knew he could solve it in less than ten minutes tops.

"Does that happen a lot?" Minji asked.

"More than you know" Neji replied, "This is only the beginning of that." Minji turned her head and grabbed Neji's arm.

"Neji! Tenten's here!" Minji said. Neji looked up from the paper and saw that Minji was right. Tenten had finally shown up, but when she saw them, she turned her head and headed for everyone else. The sand kids were there as well, even though Neji didn't exactly remember inviting them to begin with, but that was besides the matter. He was about to confront Tenten when he felt another tap on his shoulder. He turned to find one of his other uncles with a Sudoku puzzle in his hand, and Neji knew that there was no way in hell he was going to be able to talk to Tenten now.

_The chapter ended like this so it can build up, just so you all know. I'm sorry I'm late with these updates, but hey, research papers don't type themselves. So what do you guys think? Is Naruto going to be able to pull of kissing Hinata? Oh, and congrats to LaMiri for totally guessing why Neji wanted to talk to Naruto! You go you! Be prepared, in Hinata's Birthday Part II, Hinata makes her grand entrance and it's time for her friends to give her some presents. Will everyone be able to keep their cool? Please rate and review to find out! _


	31. Hinata's Birthday Part II

Chapter 31:

Hinata's Birthday Part II

On the inside, Hinata was freaking out about making her grand entrance, but she knew that she had to keep her cool or risk hearing about her mistakes until her next birthday. She heard the music play, and without hesitation, she walked out. She closed her eyes for only half a second before she heard and opened them again. She was surrounded by friends and family that, as usual, looked extremely happy to see her. Even her dad looked happy, which was rare for him. Hinata took a deep breath and slowly made her way to the seat that was decorated with petals and flowers and trimmings made of the finest material. Hinata though that sometimes their family really did go overboard with things such as birthdays.

"We will now have Hinata's friends give their presents to her," her father announced. All her friends lined up and Hinata couldn't help but blush. Sakura was the first one in line.

"Happy birthday, Hinata," Sakura smiled as she handed her the gift. Hinata nodded and opened the first of many gifts.

_Meanwhile:_

Naruto (now disguised as Neji) was pacing back and forth in the living room. How the hell was he supposed to pull this off? Kissing Hinata? In front of her whole family? What if he blew it, and everyone figured out that it wasn't Neji? What if he ran away? He would ruin Neji's reputation! Naruto was sweating greatly, wishing that he hadn't agreed to this after all.

_Outside:_

Minji was the last one to give her a present and she walked with Hinata to go get something to eat before she went inside for her family gifts. While she was away, Tenten took no time telling all the other girls what had happened at the park.

"Wait, so you mean to tell me that Neji had finally asked you out on a date and Minji still managed to ruin it?" Sakura asked.

"Yes! Just like she ruins everything else!" Tenten complained.

"I'm really getting tired of this Minji chick. Ever since she got here, she's been doing nothing but causing trouble for all of us," Ino stated.

"I agree. I'm actually mad at Gaara and that usually never happens," Temari added.

"If you ask me, I think it's about time we teach this girl a lesson," Tenten said.

"Can' it wait until later? I mean, this is Hinata's birthday party," Sakura reminded everyone else. She hated Minji's guts as well but she wasn't going to let Hinata's birthday suffer because of it.

"Of course we're not going to do it now. We don't even know what we're going to do," Temari huffed.

"You know the last time we did something like this, it ended horribly. I say we just kick her out of the village," Ino suggested.

"We can't do that. Only the Kazekage can exile people," Tenten said.

"I know that, you idiot. I mean, why don't we make it so miserable for her to be here that she'll have no choice but to move back to her old village?" Ino reworded.

"What good is that going to do, Ino pig?" Sakura whined.

"I know. We're trying to make her seem like the bad person, not us. I don't know about you, but I want Neji to still like me after this," Tenten pointed out and the other two nodded.

"Who said the boys had to know?" Ino asked.

"They're going to figure it out sooner or later, Ino," Sakura said.

"Yeah. All Minji has to do is put on her pouty face and Naruto or Lee will go running. You know Naruto can't keep a secret to save his soul," Tenten pointed out again.

"Fine, then you three think of something," Ino said.

"No time, the boys are coming," Sakura said, putting on a smile.

_At the food table:_

"You okay, Hinata?" Minji asked.

"I'm fine. Just a little nervous is all, like always," Hinata replied.

"Don't be. It's your birthday, you can do whatever you want. Besides, I saw that pretty gift Naruto gave you," Minji smiled.

"Huh?" Hinata asked, although she was already blushing.

"That mini Naruto doll her gave you. I mean it was surely conceited but it was still sweet. I mean come on, you like him right?" Minji asked.

"Who…who said that?" Hinata asked, shocked.

"Nobody did, I just catch on to these types of things. So when are you going to ask him out?" Minji asked.

"I…don't…I can't,"Hinata decided.

"Yes you can, all you need is a little push. Oh! You're family's calling you. Go get the rest of your presents!" Minji ushered Hinata away and stared at the other girls. It was pretty clear to her that they didn't like her, but honestly, Minji had no idea why. She needed to explain things to Tenten though, because what she saw yesterday wasn't what it looked like, but she had a bad feeling that Tenten had already told the other girls what she thought it looked like and now they rest of them are probably plotting against her as she stood there. No matter, Minji was here to stay and the rest of them were just going to have to deal with it.

_Later Inside the House:_

It was time and Naruto knew it. He really wanted to run away but he had made a promise to Neji and he intended to keep it that way. Maybe if he was lucky, Hinata would realize it was him…on second thought, maybe not. Naruto took a deep breath and walked towards Hinata. He could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want to do this anymore than Neji did, so Naruto kind of felt bad that they were in this kind of family which forced them to do things like this.

_You can do this, Naruto! _Naruto encouraged himself inside his head. He looked at Hinata, who had blushed and closed her eyes, which Naruto was more than thankful for. He leaned down, closed his eyes, and gently pressed his lips to Hinata's. It only lasted for about two seconds, but Naruto felt something inside him feeling all warm and fuzzy and for a split second he liked it. He and Hinata opened their eyes at the same time and Hinata turned away from him, face red as a strawberry.

"May I be excused, fa-uncle?" Naruto corrected himself.

"Don't go far," Neji's uncle said. Naruto bowed quickly and all but ran out the house. The real Neji spotted him at once and walked towards him.

"I'm assuming that you did it?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Can I go back to my normal self now?" Naruto complained.

"Go ahead," Neji said. In a puff of smoke, both of them had changed back to normal. Naruto started to walk away until Neji put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks…Naruto," Neji said, and Naruto could've sworn he saw the tiniest hint of a smile cross Neji's face. Naruto nodded in response and went to the group as Neji went inside the house.

_Ha! You guys thought I gave up on this, didn't you?! I made a promise! I'm finishing all my stories! I even started a new one but I don't know what couples I want yet. No preview for the next chapter, all you need to know is that it's not over yet! Review and rate please!_


	32. The Walk Home

Chapter 32:

The Walk Home

Once all the gifts had been given out, Hinata excused herself to the bathroom, a hint of red still on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror and then she splashed water on her face. She must've imagined it. She must have. When Neji kissed her, Hinata, on surprise, felt something warm inside her tingle. She didn't know what that feeling was but whatever it was…it felt kind of nice…But it couldn't have come from Neji! There's no way it was because of Neji. Her mind flew back to the kiss and her face got red all over again. She looked back at the mirror and caught herself smiling, which she forced back into a worried expression. She shouldn't be smiling about this, whatever **this **even was. There was no way in the world that Hinata could actually be…_attracted _to her cousin.

_Outside:_

Everybody else was outside, sitting in a circle, playing some kind of card game. Well, almost everyone. Gaara, Sasuke and Kiba were refusing to play, each for reasons nobody knew. It was all down to Naruto and Lee, who were taking forever to finish the game.

"Will you two hurry up!" Sakura whined.

"Not until bushy brow confesses that he cheated!" Naruto called.

"I, Lee, have in fact not cheated! I think it is you, Naruto, who has cheated!" Lee objected.  
"I don't care who cheated, just end the dame game!" Kiba complained.

"Not until Lee confesses!" Naruto stated.

"This is a bothersome," Gaara said. His sand rose from the ground and instantly knocked all the cards out of both Naruto and Lee's hands.

"Thank you, Gaara," Temari sighed in relief.

"Hey, whatcha do that for?!" Naruto whined.

"What is all the ruckus out here?" an irritated Neji came walking toward them.

"Lee and Naruto were arguing over a card game so Gaara ended it," Ino informed him.

"Smart move," Neji nodded at Gaara and Gaara only looked away.

"Family time over?" Temari asked.

"At last. If I had to sit in there and solve one more Sudoku I was going to lose it," Neji rubbed the back of his head. He glanced over at Tenten and realized that she wasn't looking at him. She didn't look upset anymore like she had earlier, but she just wasn't looking at him. He thought about pulling her to the side and explaining to her what had happened, but knowing Tenten, it was best to leave her alone until further notice. After all, he found it as though that Lee should be the one doing the explaining, not him. He let it go for now and sat down. When he managed to catch an irritated look cross Tenten's face, he wondered why for a moment until he saw that he had sat down next to Minji. He knew why she was upset but he was going to have to talk to her later. He heard the door open and saw Hinata walk out.

"Birthday girl! Come play with us!" Naruto invited.

"If we're playing cards again, then I'm out," Sakura said. Everyone else agreed and Naruto frowned.  
"You guys suck!" Naruto whined.

The party eventually died down and Neji and Hinata waved goodbye to everyone as they made their way home. Minji didn't need to go home just yet so she caught up to Sasuke.

"Hi?" Sasuke said.

"Need somebody to walk you home?" Minji asked.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah but I don't need to be home just yet. Kakashi isn't expecting me to be there until it's dark anyway. So as I said, you need somebody to walk you home?" Minji asked again.

"It's your choice," Sasuke said. They continued to walk, unaware that Ino had seen them. She grabbed Sakura's hair.

"Ow! What's your problem?!" Sakura whined, rubbing her hair.

"I just saw Minji and Sasuke walk off to Sasuke's house. Let's go investigate," Ino suggested.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow? I mean, Minji's probably going to tell us what happened anyway," Sakura said.

"She might lie for all we know. I mean to tell you the truth, I don't believe her about what she did with Neji at that manhunt game. I think she was just doing that to pull our strings," Ino admitted.

"I was thinking the same thing," Sakura said as they followed Sasuke and Minji.

"I really don't like Minji. I mean, I did at first until her sleepover party. She's a boytoy," Sakura said.

"Yeah, when you start adding up everything. Oh! I forgot to tell you something!" Ino suddenly remembered.

"Which is?" Sakura asked.

"Tenten was on the phone with Minji one night and although she promised Minji that she wouldn't tell, she told me anyway. Apparently, after some crap that's not worth explaining, Sasuke had kissed Minji on the forehead because she started crying about something," Ino explained.

"She was probably faking it," Sakura scoffed.

"Most likely. I mean, she's a damn ninja not knowing how to swim? Please. That's like impossible. My two year old cousin knows how to swim," Ino added.

"Boytoy," Sakura repeated.

"I mean think about all the bull crap that's been happening since she got here? She kissed Neji at her sleepover, she hugged Gaara twice, I think, that whole thing with Neji during manhunt which I think she lied about, she ruined Tenten's date with Neji, Lee asked her out on a date, Naruto is crushing her still, I think, making out with Sasuke, and now she's walking Sasuke home?" Ino added up. Sakura nodded and they continued to follow them. When Sasuke and Minji walked inside the gate, Ino and Sakura sneaked in from behind.

"This is so odd," Sasuke commented.

"Odd how?" Minji asked.

"It's just that I've never let anybody in here after my clan was murdered," Sasuke replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to leave?" Minji asked.

"No, I wasn't trying to get rid of you. It was just odd is all…but it's kind of nice to have some company," Sasuke decided.

"Really? From what I've heard, your favorite hobby is being alone," Minji giggled.

"Yeah, when I'm busy thinking about something. You want to go to the pond?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure," Minji nodded. He walked her to around the estate and when he showed her the pond, she gasped.

"Sasuke! It's beautiful!" Minji exclaimed.

"It's about the only thing that's still living around here. I figured that something had the right to still be living," Sasuke shrugged, not seeing the excitement in it.

"But it's gorgeous! Look at all the flowers growing around it! And there's lily pads in the pond!" Minji skipped over the stones in the water to get close to them. Sasuke followed after her, making sure that she didn't slip. Ino and Sakura had finally managed to get to the garden after having lost track of the two and found them standing on two stones as Minji leaned over to pick up a lily pad.

"Why'd you pick it up?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"Because it always looks better up close. Plus, I like the flower," Minji explained as she sniffed it.

"You know you can take the flower off right?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh?" Minji asked. Sasuke took the lily pad from her, took the flower out, and put it in her hand.

"See?" Sasuke said.

"Oh, but the poor lily pad. It's not going to look like the rest of its companions," Minji pouted.

"It'll live, besides" Sasuke said, he took the flower from her and put it in her hair, "It looks better on you."

"Well now that you put it that way, it can be without its flower," Minji laughed.

"This is so aggravating," Ino mumbled.

"I know," Sakura added.

"Here, I'll put it back," Sasuke said, holding his hand out.

"That's okay, I'll do it," Minji said, taking the flower out of her hair. She leaned over to put the flower back in the lily pad but it floated just out of her reach and before Sasuke could catch her, she fell in with a splash. Ino and Sakura began to laugh hysterically as Sasuke reached his hand in to grab her. He got her and helped pull her back onto the stone.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked. Minji coughed and tried to catch her breath.

"I-I think so," Minji coughed out. She pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Can you see?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah," Minji said as she blinked. She coughed one more time and Sasuke patted her back.

"You're drenched. Come on, I'll walk you home," Sasuke offered. They got up and made their way out his estate.

"Please, she did that on purpose!" Ino laughed.

"Completely!" Sakura agreed, cracking up.

_Elsewhere:_

Gaara found himself on the roof more and more recently. He had been thinking…about Minji. He didn't know what the hell bothered him so much to the point where he kept thinking about her, but it was probably because she kept hugging him. She had hugged him before he could leave and he felt just the tiniest tug of a tingle somewhere in his spine. What the hell was going on with him? He liked no one, not even Temari and Kankuro. Although, unlike the others, Minji didn't seem to care that he was bluntly trying to push her away. Finding no other solution, he knew that in the least he was at _least _going to have to be…what was that word? Noce? Nicke? Nire? Nice? Yeah, that one, nice.

He was going to have to be…**nice **to her.

But how?

What do you do to be nice to a girl?

Gaara puzzled himself, not ever finding himself in this situation, it was becoming rather difficult. Maybe he should get her something? Get her what though? His mind flew back to that horrid jewelry that Temari always wore around her neck under her clothes. That was a necklace right? Yeah, that. He was going to get her a necklace. Then maybe she would finally leave him alone if he showed…what was that word? Kindness, yeah. Maybe, just maybe.

_Hey everyone! Told you I'm not giving up! But I need serious help! I still don't know who I want Minji to be with by the end of this story so any suggestions? Please rate and review! In the next chapter, the girls decide to give Minji some punishment for messing things up around there. What do you think they're going to do? Hint: __IT INVOLVES A LAKE __Muahahahahaha! And Gaara goes gift shopping…this should be interesting. Rate and Review! Tell me what you guys think! See you in the next update. _


	33. So Not Funny!

Chapter 33:

So Not Funny!

Going to the lake was exactly what everyone needed, but the only person who wasn't there was Gaara, claiming he had something better to do. Even Kakashi had come, but only to watch over them because Minji was there. While the boys were in the lake, splashing around, the girls were on the grass, tanning instead. Sakura looked at Temari, Ino and Tenten, who nodded back at her. They had a plan for Minji today, even though Hinata wasn't aware of what they were going to do to Minji. But they knew that if she knew then she would try to stop them. But to them, Hinata looked rather distracted with something else, so they left her alone.

"Naruto, you cheated! You opened your eyes!" Lee complained. They were playing marco polo.

"Why don't you girls come in so there's more people? Stop trying to look cute!" Kiba said.

"As if! We're talking!" Temari scoffed.

"Minji, why don't you join us?" Lee asked. Minji smiled but shook her head.

"That' okay Lee. Water and I aren't exactly best friends," Minji laughed.

"Then you're about to get a lot more acquainted with each other," Sakura mumbled, and Ino laughed at the joke. Neji wasn't in the lake either though, he was sitting to the side, meditating. Tenten though about pushing him into the water but he would notice her presence before she could even get close to him.

"Hey guys, where's Gaara?" Minjia asked.

"Beats me. He said he had something more important to do," Temari replied.

"I bet he lied. He probably just doesn't want to be around us anymore," Sakura laughed.

"Yeah, because Minji scared him off," Ino agreed. Minji sat up.

"What did I do?" Minji asked.

"You kept hugging him," Temari answered quickly.

"Well, somebody had to. I told you this before, I'm sure Gaara would be a lot more happier if somebody just hugged him once in a while," Minji said.

"You hug him every time you see him. There's a difference," Temari pointed out.

"So? That's just me. Besides, if it really bothered him that much he would've been stopped me, don't you think?" Minji asked and Temari grimaced.

"Forget about Gaara, I saw you and Sasuke walking the same direction after Hinata's birthday party. What was up with that?" Tenten asked, her eyebrow shooting up. Sakura and Ino looked at each other, realizing that they hadn't told Temari or Tenten about what they saw, which is probably why they didn't full understand the prank that was going to happen.

"Nothing happened, at least not like that. We just talked about nonsense stuff, right up until I fell in the water," Minji rolled her eyes.

"You fell?" Sakura asked, suspiciously.

"Sure did. I leaned over too far to put some flower back and overboard I went," Minji laughed, "Although I was pretty scared because I don't like water if it's not in the bathtub or the shower."

"Too bad for you then," Ino mumbled and Sakura laughed. Wow, with Minji around, it seemed as though Ino and Sakura were becoming better friends, mainly for the fact that they both had a strong dislike for Minji.

"Seems like someone is getting very acquainted with all the boys," Temari smirked.

"As if. They all kind of remind me of the boys back in my old town. A lot more fun to be around though, because they're all different," Minji said.

"Really now? So I'm assuming that you are no longer crushing on anyone?" Ino asked.

"I didn't say all that. By the way, Tenten, I would really like to apologize about that little incident before Hinata's birthday. It really wasn't what you thought you were looking at," Minji apologized.

"It's cool, Minji. I'm so over that. I just overreacted was all," Tenten pretended to brush it off. In truth, she didn't want to hear Minji's apology, because the fact that she already liked Neji was more than enough for her not to believe anything Minji said anymore.

"I just have one question though. Who wrote the damn letter?" Sakura asked.

"Lee," Minji replied.

"LEE?!" all the girls said, shocked, even Hinata who had now honed in on the conversation.

"Lee?" Kakashi asked. The girls looked at him coldly, bluntly telling him to stay out of the conversation. Kakashi rolled his eye and went back to his book.

"Yeah, although I think that was my fault. I told him that he should ask a girl out on a date besides me or Sakura," Minji said.

"Why not me?" Sakura asked.

"Because you're always turning him down so what's the point? So he mentioned how he had the tiniest crush on Tenten and I told him to take her out on a date. He must've written the letter but told Neji to give it to you. That's why it all looked so confusing," Minji explained.

"That doesn't explain why you were there," Temari noticed.

"I just happen to come across there. Besides, I was running away from my uncle," Minji smiled.

"I was only trying to show you wonderful touching scene in the book," Kakashi defended himself.

Tenten nodded her head, understanding how it all got mixed up, but that doesn't explain why Minji had to stay there with Neji. She obviously did that on purpose but Tenten decided to keep that part of information to herself.

_On the other Side of Town:_

Gaara was getting more and more pissed off the more time he spent walking through that damn leaf village. Finding a jewelry store was harder than he thought, but he had told himself he was going to do this. It didn't mean he liked Minji because he only loved himself and himself only, but he knew that in the aftermath of it all he was going to have to do something for her, seeing as she was so nice to him. Why the hell she was so nice to him? Gaara had no idea, but he really didn't want to know. Afterall, he recalled overhearing Minji say something about how he looked lonely or something along those lines. Gaara was definitely not lonely, if that's what she thought, then she was dead wrong. And what was up with Temari lately? Was she really that mad because he didn't do anything every time Minji hugged him? He didn't understand why it was bothering her so much. He let her hug him because to be honest, he just didn't care about it. It was a hug, and it wasn't like he was hugging her back, which he would never do in his lifetime. Finally, Gaara spotted a jewelry store and saundered in. They lady that ran the place looked up at him and smiled.

"Well, I've never seen you before. Welcome," she smiled brightly at him and Gaara almost left the store. Did the lady have to be so damn peppy?

"Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?" the lady asked. Gaara ignored her and went in search of the necklace for himself. The ones he was passing were all stupid, made with all these hearts and friendship bracelets. How pathetic.

_Why do girls want theses stupid trinkets? _Gaara asked himself, wondering what joy you could possibly get out of these. For a split second, he imagined Minji's face when he gave her whatever necklace he was going to buy, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He didn't care how she reacted. She was going to accept the…geft? Persent? Gift, yeah, gift. She was going to accept the gift whether she liked it or not…even if somewhere in the back of Gaara's mind, he was hoping that she was going to like it.

_I'm puttin_g _too much thought into this. Stop it, _Gaara told himself. He picked up a random one that he happened to see at first sight and gave it to the lady so he could pay for it. It was a silver necklace with a small five second sand timer attached to it.

_Great. Leave it to me to pick something that had some damn sand in it, _Gaara cursed himself for his action.

"This is lovely. Is this for a special someone by any chance?" the lady asked.

"A what?" Gaara said, looking up at her. What the hell was a special someone?

"You know. Your girlfriend or someone you want to be your girlfriend?" the lady smiled at him. Gaara took a long minute to answer, dumbstruck that this too happy lady had assumed her had anything of the sort.

"That's none of your business," Gaara decided on his choice of words.

"If you say so. So would you like it wrapped in a box or put it in a ring case?" the lady asked. Gaara could feel his eye beginning to twitch. Why the fuck did he need to put it in a box? Or a ring case? Whatever that was. Was that really necessary?

"A box," Gaara said quietly. The lady nodded and put the necklace in a small silver box.

"You want a ribbon or-"

"Just give me the damn geft-gift," Gaara had to correct himself. The lady seemed unfazed by his cursing. She gave him the box, he gave her the money, and Gaara made a note in his head to kill this woman in a later time as he left the store.

_At the Lake:_

The girls finally decided to get in the pool, all except for Minji, who sat on the edge of the lake to watch their marco polo game resume with a bigger crowd. Poor Hinata, she was it and she looked terrified to death that she couldn't see where she was going.

"Marco?" Hinata asked.

"Polo!" Everyone shouted. Hinata couldn't tell where anyone was with all of them shouting at the same time. How did they expect her to tag someone? She'd been at this for a while now.

_This would be more fun if Neji was playing too, _Hinata sighed. She did wonder why Neji would rather meditate than get in the pool but that was beyond her asking. It was his weird hobby so she left him to it. Fortunately, when she shouted Marco again, she heard a splash on the left of her. She reached out her hand and miraculously touched somebody's arm.

"Naruto! You're it!" She heard Shikamaru shout. Hinata opened her eyes, and sure enough, she had tagged Naruto, who was smiling at her.

"Good job! About time you caught someone!" Naruto laughed. He flicked Hinata on the nose, who immediately covered her nose as her face went red with embarrassment. Naruto didn't take long to tag someone though, for within a matter of five calls, he managed to get Shikamaru. As Shikamaru started, Ino and Sakura swam over to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto. Don't you feel a little bad hat Minji isn't playing with us?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Why is she sitting there by herself?" Naruto asked.

"She thinks the water is too cold but everyone knows you got to jump in first to get used to it," Ino said.

"What? She doesn't know how to jump in or something?" Naruto laughed.

"Actually, she doesn't. Why don't you go show her?" Sakura asked, smiling. INo nodded in agreement and they could Naruto's grin reach both ears.

"You mean I get to throw Minji in the lake?" Naruto asked.

"You don't have to throw her, just jump in with her," Sakura laughed. Naruto didn't need any other reason now. He quickly swam back to shore and approached Minji.

"Hey, Minji, wanna come in?" Naruto asked.

"Um, that's okay, Naruto. I think I'm going to just sit here," Minji said.

"Oh come on, don't be a sour puss like Neji over there. Come on, it's fun," Naruto said. As they were talking, Sakura and Ino were listening closely. They nodded towards Temari and Tenten, who played the game while watching as well. They couldn't wait to see this.

"I'm fine over here, Naruto. I mean, the lake looks pretty cold," Minji commented and Sakura and Ino had to hold in their laughter. She was playing right into their trap.

"That's only when suckers try to walk in" Naruto laughed, "Everyone knows you have to jump in. Come on, I'll jump in carrying you!"

"No, Naruto, I'm quite fine-ah!" Minji exclaimed as Naruto picked her up.

"Naruto, put me down, I really don't want to go swimming!" Minji tried to pry herself away from Naruto.

"The water won't be that cold, I promise," Naruto waved off her struggling. Ino and Sakura were ready to explode. This was hilarious to watch. At the same time, Sasuke had stopped playing the game, hearing Minji's voice when she yelled at Naruto, and Neji had opened one eye to see what was going on. Kakashi peeked up from his book, hearing his neice scream. They looked at Naruto holding Minji, but only Sasuke and Kakashi seemed a little worried, for they were the only ones who knew that Minji couldn't swim. Sasuke had learned that the night they played man hunt.

"Naruto, put me down!" Minji demanded, looking at the water, frightened.

"Naruto, put her down," Kakashi ordered, but Naruto paid him no mind.

"Ready? One. Two. Three!" Naruto shouted happily as he jumped in with Minji in his arms. They made a huge splash and Naruto came back up, with Minji hanging on to his neck and shoulders so tightly, she could probably make fingerprints if she held on long enough. The girls couldn't help it. They started cracking up, all four of them. Hinata didn't laugh, as she worriedly looked at Minji's face.

"See? I told you that was fun!...Minji? You okay?" Naruto asked, noticing that she hadn't let go yet. Not only was she shivering dramatically, but she was staring at the water as if it was a snake and was going to attack her. He could see her eyes beginning to water, and not the water from the lake either. He heard the girls laughing, and wondered what was so funny? Minji looked terrified.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sasuke cursed at him, furious. He swam over to them immediately. The girls were had managed to stifle their laughter, and Tenten made a mad face. Sakura and Ino had stopped though because what they didn't expect was for Sasuke to care so much that he had swam over. They were furious for real.

"Yeah, Naruto! What's wrong with you?!" Tenten shouted angrily at him, still trying to hold in her giggles. Neji, still on shore, looked at the girls and found something very suspicious about the way they were behaving. Weren't they the ones laughing a few moments ago? Kakashi was suspicious too. Why in the world would Naruto just randomly decide to throw Minji in the water now when he wasn't concerned about her earlier?

"Come on, Minji. I'll take you back to shore," Sasuke half grabbed her and Minji clung to him like a frightened child as he swam back to shore. She was so scared that Sasuke could feel her heart beating tremendously. Then Tenten finally got mad for real as she watched Neji get up from where he was sitting and help Sasuke pull Minji back onto the ground. Kakashi took out her towel from his bag and wrapped her around it.

"Naruto! Didn't I tell you to put her down!" Kakashi yelled at him.

"Why are you yelling at me? She wasn't having any fun," Naruto shrugged.

"Naruto, you are so stupid sometimes! Minji can't swim you idiot!" Tenten shouted at him. She was trying to sound angry when really she couldn't have been any more happier. It was about time Minji got what she deserved for once.

"What!? I didn't know that! Minji, I'm sorry, are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"I'm fine," Minji gave him a tiny smile.

"Stupid," Sasuke rolled his eyes as he punched Naruto in the back of the head.

"Thank you for helping her, Sasuke," Kakashi said. Sasuke shrugged it off and the Marco Polo game resumed. Neji was eyeing the girls, finding it suspicious that they were the ones laughing when it happened, but yet got mad at Naruto. That was very strange.

Something was going on, and he didn't like it.

_Well, that's it for this chapter! Isn't that something? The girls tricked Naruto so he could take the fall for it! Poor Minji. Luckily for her, Sasuke was her knight in shining armor today. So tell me what you guys thought about this chapter and what you think is going to happen next. Congrats to Kakashi for being a cool uncle too __. And how about that Gaara shopping huh? He couldn't say gift right on the first try. Looks like he has a lot to learn about romance. Be prepared in the next chapter, Gaara gives Minji the necklace, and Minji has __**no **__problem gloating about it to all the girls. Also, Hinata and Neji have some alone time and Hinata goes off the deep end! Why? Rate and Review to find out! Also, let's keep voting on that poll! I know now who I want her to be with but I want to see what you guys think! Let's see some lengthly reviews! Whoooooooooohoooooo! Until next time!_


	34. You Are So Not My Brother

Chapter 34:

You Are So Not My Brother

"Annoying people," Gaara mumbled, thinking about how Temari wouldn't let him leave the house until he finished his breakfast. Why he didn't just kick her ass when she first ordered him to do it? Because he had something else better to do than to bicker with his damn sister. But that was still annoying and she was going to pay for that later when he felt like it. He looked down at the gift in his hand and almost reconsidered giving it to Minji. What if she doesn't like it? What if she gets mad at him? What if-wait…he doesn't care about that, where did the hell did that come from? He shook his head, clear of his thoughts and set out to find the person of his interest at the moment.

_Meanwhile:_

Neji was a little worried when his cousin said she wanted to talk to him. Hinata never wanted to talk to him, it was usually him needing to talk to her, so he was curious as to what it was that she had to tell him. He really hoped that it had nothing to do with the kiss on her birthday, because he couldn't embarrass her by telling her that it was Naruto that kissed her and not him. Hinata would go so red in the face she wouldn't come back down from it. When he heard the door open to the back porch, out walked Hinata and Neji looked away. She sat down next to him, a little too close for comfort for him, and sighed.

"There was something you needed to tell me?" Neji asked.

"Um…yes," Hinata said slowly.

"Well, whatever it is, spit it out, Hinata. You know I don't play your little sputtering when you're around me," Neji said, trying to hurry this up.

"Um, it's about…that kiss on my birthday Neji…," Hinata said and if she had looked at him, she would've saw what she could see of Neji's eyes widening in shock.

_Does she already know? Is she going to tell? _Neji worried for about a fraction of a second. If Hinata told then Neji would not only be whipped but he would be in serious trouble beyond that.

"Um…I just wanted to tell you that…I-"

"You what?" Neji asked, trying to sound serious but on the inside he was freaking out, "Could you hurry this up, Hinata?"

Neji regretted his request almost immediately. As soon as he said that, Hinata grabbed him by the face and kissed him full on the lips. Neji's eyes almost burst out of their sockets as he just sat there, shocked to a standstill, until Hinata let go of his face and turned away from him, blushing like hell.

"Wh-wha-" Neji couldn't even get the words out of his mouth. He was starting to sound like Hinata whenever she talked to Naruto, "What the fu-"

"Hinata! There you are! Your father wishes to speak with you," Hinata's maid came opening the door. Hinata turned to her maid.

"Okay. I'll be there in a minute," Hinata said. The maid closed the door and Hinata stood up, not even looking at her cousin. As she walked past him, she whispered softly in his ear shyly.

"I really liked the kiss," she said before scurrying back into the estate. Neji couldn't move. His eyes were going crazy. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

Hinata just kissed him.

His _cousin _just kissed him.

His _cousin, Hinata, _just kissed him and said she liked the other kiss, that wasn't even from him!

"What the fuck just happened?!" Neji mumbled to himself.

_A Little Later:_

Gaara was just about to give up his search for Minji. She obviously was nowhere to be found today. Maybe her uncle had finally gotten her to sit down. He was on his way home, a little disappointed.

_Wait, why the hell am I disappointed? _Gaara thought angrily, _I should be happy that I can't find that damned girl. Giving gefts are too…ngh for me. I shouldn't have even bought the damn thing. The next piece of water I pass, I'm throwing it in the-huh?_

Gaara lost his train of thought as he heard loud crash come from the side of him. A pile of books had fallen on someone.

Minji.

_Oh, good, I found her…-stop that! _Gaara warned himself as he walked over to her, hiding the gift behind his back. He used his sand to pick up the books and put them in a neat pile beside her. Seeing the sand, Minji looked up and smiled. Gaara was tempted to smile back….almost.

"Hey Gaara, thanks. Um, sorry you had to witness that though," Minji blushed.

"I only saw the after event of the fall," Gaara explained, noticing how cute she looked when she blushed and-

_Stop that immediately! _Gaara warned his brain or whatever it was that was causing these thoughts to string around in his head. Minji giggled and hugged him, feeling something in the back and stepped back before Gaara even realized that she had hugged him.

"What's that behind your back?" Minji asked.

_At the Same Time:_

"He has got to stop running off like that," Temari complained as she was out searching for Gaara. This wasn't a big village so she didn't understand why it was being so hard to find Gaara. Finally, spotting his red hair from a mile away, Temari almost ran to him before she stopped and saw that that girl, Minji, was with him. She hid behind a tree.

"What's he up to?" Temari said to herself.

_With Gaara and Minji:_

"Oh…right," Gaara said, mentally kicking himself for forgetting about why he was looking for her in the first place. Then he made a mental note that he kicks himself for no one so that was stupid. He moved his hand from behind his back to produce the purple box with the silver ribbon. He looked away as he held it out for her.

"A present? For me? Really?" Minji asked, sort of laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny," Gaara said, offended that she laughed at him.

As if reading his mind, Minji said, "I'm not laughing at you, I'm just amazed is all. You don't seem like the one to give presents. But thank you." She took the present from him and carefully untied the ribbon. She put it in her pocket and opened the box, then she gasped.

"Gaara! It's beautiful!" Minji exclaimed, her eyes shining. She held up the little gold necklace with the miniature five second-sand timer.

_With Temari and the Tree:_

Temari gasped when Minji held up the necklace.

_What?! _She said angrily in her head, _Seriously?! He got her a gift! A necklace no doubt?! Is he for real?! This can not be happening right now! Really, Gaara?! Seriously?! That's not cool!_

_With Gaara and Minji:_

"If you're done marveling at it, can I put it on you?" Gaara asked, a little impatient but thrilled that she likes it.

_Once again, stop it with those thoughts. I could care less if she liked it or not, _Gaara warned himself. At first he tried to use his sand to tie it around her neck but the sand was for some odd reason failing so Gaara sighed, forced to do it by hand. He walked behind her and moved her hair to one side, noticing how soft it was, and connected the piece of jewelry around her neck. His hand had just briefly touched her neck and he felt something odd course through his fingertips.

_What the hell was that? _Gaara wondered, letting her hair fall back into place. As he walked back in front of her, he saw that she was holding the timer in her hand, still smiling.

"I take it that you like it?" Gaara assumed, pretending that he couldn't care less.

_Not pretending, _he tried to convince himself.

"Gaara, I love it! Thank you so much," Minji smiled and Gaara noticed something different about that smile but before he could put thought into it, Minji surprised him by hugging him around the beck this time, although she had to stand on her tip toes, and then she kissed him on the cheek.

Too early for that.

Too touchy.

Gaara used his sand to dispatch her from his body.

"It's getting too emotional," Gaara declared.

"Sorry" Minji laughed, "Gaara, this is really sweet. Thank you" She turned to pick up the books, "Well, I got to get going. Bye! And thank you!"

She skipped off and Gaara forced himself to pull back a smirk that he felt coming for some odd reason.

"Finally, that's over," Gaara said.

"You know, Gaara, you've got some nerve," he heard Temari's voice say from behind him. He turned around to find her, glaring at him with angry eyes.

"I see you found me," Gaara said, uninterested.

"Gaara, how could you do that?! You don't even know the girl and you're suddenly Santa Claus?! Never once have you given me anything! I can't even get you to hug me! What the hell does this girl have that I don't, Gaara? Huh?! What does she have that your flesh and blood doesn't have that gives her the right to be able to be somewhere in you that me and your brother have never seen?! That's unfair, Gaara! You are so-you're-…you are not my brother!" Temari lashed out on him and left before Gaara could say anything, not that he was going to anyway. To him, Temari was overreacting, and he honestly didn't see where all thus was coming from. And what was she talking about somewhere in him? His heart? Because he sure as hell didn't have that. Gaara glared at her retreating back.

His fingers were still tingling.

_Well, how's that for a chapter? See, I told you guys I'd be back! And I promised that you guys would get the next chapter. If you haven't seen it yet, I've posted two new kingdom hearts stories! I personally like this chapter, especially Neji's part. Tell what you guys think. Lets get some good reviews! In the next chapter, after showing them the necklace, all the girls have just about had it with Minji, and they think its time she goes back home to her old village. Also, Sasuke, waiting for Naruto to hurry up in the bathroom at Kakashi's house, accidentally hears something he shouldn't hear. What could it be? Rate and review to find out!_


	35. Looks Like An Angel

Chapter 35:

Looks Like An Angel

Minji couldn't wait to see the girls. She was well aware now that Tenten didn't like her worth of nothing but she put that aside because she really did need to talk to her. She still felt bad about the situation that Tenten found her and Neji in, and even though she explained it to her, she knew Tenten didn't believe. Other than that, the other girls had no reason not to like her, except maybe Sakura and Ino. But that was their own fault, for spreading false rumors that she and Sasuke were making out at the tea shop. She didn't even tell Sasuke yet, or maybe he already knew. She looked at the five second-sand timer and grinned. Oh, who cares what they think? This gift from Gaara was just too sweet. She didn't mean to kiss him on the cheek but even though she wasn't there long, it all just seemed so out of place or Gaara to get somebody anything, let alone her. When she got to the spot she told them to meet her at, she found only Hinata, Ino and Sakura had shown. Where were Tenten and Temari?

"Hey guys!" Minji greeted warmly.

"Hey, Minji. Tenten said she had training to do so she couldn't make it. And Temari wasn't picking up the phone so yeah," Sakura explained. Minji shrugged, deeming the explanation to be understandable, although she was pretty sure that Tenten lied because she sure enough had to pass Neji's estate too get over here and Neji was in the grass on the front lawn, mediatating. She waved to him but he ignored her, probably didn't even hear her. Minji shook the thought from her head, she was going to get him for that later.

"So, I have some wonderful news!" Minji suddenly piped up.

"What happened? You're going home?" Ino asked.

"No, that's bad news" Minji laughed, "Look what I got yesterday." Minji showed them the necklace and Ino and Sakura smiled.

"Aw! It's so kawaii!" Ino exclaimed.

"Where did you get that from? I want one," Sakura marveled at the piece of jewelry.

"I don't know. You have to ask Gaara," Minji said. Ino and Sakura made a face.

"Gaara?" Sakura repeated.

"Yeah. Gaara gave it to me. It didn't say it was gift or anything but he just gave it to me. I wonder why," Minji laughed. Ino and Sakura just stood there, shocked. Gaara gave somebody a gift? And to Minji to add on top of that? Why the hell would he give something to her?

"Don't you think it just fits him, though? The necklace is a sand timer. Five seconds," Minji explained.

"Why did he give that to you?" Ino asked.

"I don't know. I didn't ask him. I think I might have over stepped a boundary though. You see, I was so happy with the gift when I hugged him I sort of kissed him on the cheek," Minji laughed.

"I'm surprised you're still alive from that," Ino laughed.

"Yeah, me too. He pulled me off with his sand saying it was getting too emotional," Minji said, using her fingers as quotation marks.

"That's so odd," Sakura said.

"And unfair!" Ino whined.

"How?" Minji asked.

"Because my Sasuke never gives me anything!" Ino complained.

"Your Sasuke is _my _Sasuke, Ino-pig!" Sakura corrected her.

"Is not, BillBoard Head!" Ino insulted.

"Guys, don't- nevermind," Minji laughed as Ino and Sakura started their usual fight over Sasuke. Minji just sat back in her chair and watched for a moment until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find the object of Ino and Sakura's fight.

Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke," Minji smiled. Ino and Sakura stopped immediately upon hearing his name. They both looked up and put on their best smile.

"Hi, Sasuke!" They both said at the same time.

"Hi. Um, hey, Minji, could I talk to you for a second?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure, about what?" Minji asked.

"Alone?" Sasuke said, eying Ino and Sakura. Minji hopped off the seat she was sitting on and followed Sasuke to the entry of the store. Ino and Sakura looked at each other.

"And what the hell could he want with her?" Ino asked, obviously jealous.

"Hey, maybe he just wants to tell her that she has something in her hair. Which she does, actually," Sakura smirked. They watched for a minute before Sasuke nodded, obviously pleased with whatever Minji said, and walked away. Minji practically bounced back to her seat.

"So what did our Sasuke want?" Sakura asked, getting straight to the point.

"He wants me to come his estate tonight. He said it was something important," Minji shrugged it off, as if it wasn't that important.

"Alone?!" Ino and Sakura's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"No" Minji laughed, "He said that Naruto was going to be there too."

"And how come we weren't invited?" Sakura asked, clearly offended.

"I don't know. I mean you are his teammate. Hey, you want to come with me? He didn't say I couldn't bring a plus one," Minji said.

"Really?! Sure! You know I'm coming! All alone in Sasuke's estate…," Sakura trailed off, obviously in a daze now. Minji shook her head as Ino took that opportunity to push Sakura out of her chair.

_Meanwhile:_

All the meditation in the world wasn't going to get that event out of Neji's mind. After two hours, he finally gave up, knowing that it wasn't working. He went back inside the house and quietly knocked on his aunt's door.

"Who is it?" his heard his aunt's voice come from the other side.

"It's Neji," Neji said, now unsure if he should've came up here. The door opened and his aunt smiled at him. Hmph, funny, seeing how that's the first smile he seen on her since Hinata's birthday.

"May I come in?" Neji asked, taking a step back.

"Is there something you need to talk to me about?" His aunt asked.

"Yes," Neji responded. His aunt opened the door wider so he could come in. He sat down on the floor while she sat on the bed.

"What is it?" his aunt asked, curious. Her nephew never visits her.

"I have to ask you a question," Neji said.

"What?" His aunt asked.

"Um…how do you tell a girl that you don't like her like that?" Neji asked, figuring he might as well get it over with. Besides, he was pretty sure that the sooner he knew, the sooner he could get Hinata off of him. A shiver went down his spine. He almost jumped when he heard his aunt squealed.

"Oh, I knew it! But Neji, why would you want her away from you?" His aunt asked, happy as a merry go round. What? Neji was lost.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Or who?" Neji asked.

"That girl! Kakashi's niece if I'm correct? That girl!" his aunt replied. Neji was shocked. She thought he was talking about-

"Minji?" Neji asked.

"Oh, that's a pretty name! Neji, dear, why are you trying to push her away? She's just darling! Oh, does she like you?" his aunt was going estatic and it was scaring Neji right up to his spine.

"No! Wait-yes-I don't know!" Neji was flabbergasted.

"Don't try to push her away, Neji. Oh, is she here now? Is that why you asked?" His aunt asked, a gleam in her eyes. Neji's eyes widened.

"No! She's not here!" Neji confirmed.

"Neji, don't reject her, you understand me? I like her. She was such a lady at the birthday party. Now go on," his aunt shooed him away, happy as can be. Neji got up and slowly closed the door.

"Unbelievable," was all Neji could muster out of his mouth.

_Later that day:_

Tenten was still fuming. Neji hadn't come to practice today, right when she needed to talk to him. She needed to apologize for acting the way she did at the park that day. She found out from Lee that the letter was from him, not Neji, so to put it blank, she was little heartbroken, embarrassed and confused. Why couldn't have that letter been from Neji? Why had she acted a fool? And why did Lee ask her out on a date? As she was walking home because it was getting dark outside, she passed Temari, her angry aura almost visible.

"Temari?" Tenten asked. Temari stopped and turned to face her. She looked extremely upset.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked.

"Nothing…I've just disowned my brother is all," Temari sniffled.

"Kankuro?" Tenten asked.

"No, Gaara," Temari said.

"Why? What happened?" Tenten asked.

"Did you go meet Minji with the other girls today?" Temari asked.

"No. I'm not spending time with that girl anymore unless I have to. After watching Neji break out of his meditation to go help her get to shore? That just about did it in for me. Why?" Tenten asked.

"She was probably showing off that damn necklace," Temari spat.

"Necklace?" Tenten asked.

"Gaara bought her a necklace. Can you believe that? _Gaara _bought _Minji _a gift. He doesn't say good morning to me half the time in the morning. I have to live with him for all these years and he doesn't even consider Kankuro and I his siblings when he's the youngest out of the three of us! I can't believe it! I can't get a hug out of my brother and yet she gets hugs **and **a gift?! That's bullshit! I'm sick of Minji! I'm sick of her!" Temari was fuming. She was more mad at her brother than she was letting on, but she wanted to take it out on the person who was causing Gaara to act like this.

"Funny, you should mention that. I'm just about done with her too. And I'm pretty sure Ino and Sakura are too they just won't admit it," Tenten agreed.

"Why did Kakashi have to bring her here?" Temari complained.

"I don't know…but maybe we can send her back. I'm sure her parents are missing their little baby," Tenten said, a gleam in her eye. Temari looked at her and smiled.

"I like the way you think," Temari smiled.

"Hey, it's about time she goes home now. I think she's overstayed her welcome. The only problem is getting her back home. I don't know where her village is and we don't have her parents' number," Tenten realized.

"We don't…but Kakashi does," Temari said.

_Later That Night:_

Sasuke was sitting in Kakashi's house, waiting for Naruto to finish the hell up in the bathroom and waiting for Minji to finish getting dressed. He didn't know who was taking longer, Naruto or Minji. Sasuke really had no sense as to why he was inviting Naruto, probably because it looked a little suspicious if he just wanted Minji there. But he'd be lying if he said he didn't. He sat out on the lake two days after that day Minji was there and he felt really…lonely. Lonely without her there. He's assuming that's only because he hasn't had anyone in his house for a long time but he just wanted to be sure it wasn't for some other reason. He felt the slightest tingle when he helped her up out of the lake and when he had to swim her back to shore, but for the time being he was ignoring whatever it was, but now it was becoming more and more apparent. He didn't know what it was. The phone rang just as Sasuke was about to ask Kakashi something. Kakashi got up and went into the kitchen.

"Hello? Who is this?...Why the hell are you calling my house?" Kakashi asked, anger in his voice. Sasuke was shocked. Kakashi never gets that mad that quickly. He looked at the door and pondered on whether he should ease drop. Ease dropping wasn't his style, but he wanted to know what made Kakashi so mad in less than four seconds. He snuck up to the wall and listened closely.

"Why the hell are you calling my house?" Kakashi asked yet again, still angry, "Spur of the moment my ass…No, you can't talk to Minji…because I have custody of her now, you asshole, did I not make that clear when I went over there to get her? … No, why should I let you? Give me one good reason why I should let you talk to her?...You're sorry? Oh, that's funny. You know saying sorry doesn't fix shit. …What?... Unreasonable? I'm unreasonable?...Please, asshole, let's not go down that road, I have company over…I don't care!...You rape your own daughter and yet _I'm _the one being an asshole? That's pretty hypercritical don't you think?...No, I don't care. Goodbye, and go tell your wife what a horrible sister she turned out to be!" Kakashi hung up the phone with a loud smack that even made Sasuke jump about a foot in the air. But he was shocked.

_Minji was raped?_

_By her own father?_

"What the hell?" Sasuke said without whispering. He cursed himself when he said it loudly, knowing now that Kakashi knew he was there.

"Don't you know it's rude to listen to people's phone calls?" Kakashi asked, his normal voice back.

"Were you…talking about Minji?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, so you heard that part?" Kakashi said.

"Did he…did he really…?" Sasuke couldn't say it. Kakashi sighed sadly.

"I wish I would've gotten there sooner. But Sasuke, since you're smart, then be a good scout and don't let on that you heard anything today. I'm trying to make her forget about it," Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded.

"I promise," Sasuke agreed. Kakashi suddenly got up, hearing the pitter patter of footsteps coming down the stairs. They went into the living room to find Minji and Naruto coming down the stairs.

"So we all ready to go?" Minji asked.

_Sorry to end the chapter like that but oh well lol. So tell me what you guys think! A new chapter in one day, congrats for me! And man Sasuke should've stayed away from the kitchen. Let's get some reviews! In the next chapter, they go over to Sasuke's house and Sasuke makes a drastic move! Also, Tenten and Temari plot to get Minji out of the Leaf village. And Tenten and Minji finally have a one on one which goes straight down the drain because-wait! I can't give that away! Please Rate and Review!_


	36. Walks Like An Angel

Chapter 36:

Walks Like An Angel

Neji was grumbling to himself. Never again would he go to the damn market at this hour. The sun was almost fully set and he was just coming home from the market. He made a mental note to never talk to his aunt again about anything girl related. He was trying to find a way to get Hinata off his back and all his aunt did was make it seem as though there was something going on between him and Minji. As if! Neji harboring romantic feelings for anybody is just unheard of. It's ridiculous. Sure, they've kissed some times, no, correction, she's kissed him some times but hell, Neji could truly care less. He was just enjoying himself and the girl seemed to have her priorities all out of order. But then again, so did all the other girls. He truly believed that they were behind the lake prank with Naruto but he didn't want to say anything because he really didn't want to hear the girls start fake ranting. He was all for pranks and everything but Minji could've died.

"Um, do you need help with those bags?" he heard a familiar voice asked. He turned to find Tenten. Great, not somebody he felt like talking to at the moment.

"I thought you were still mad at me," Neji said, ignoring her request to help with the bags. He was more than capable of doing it himself.

"I know…I was…but I just don't get it still," Tenten sighed.

"Get what? The part that Minji just happened to show up or the part about Lee and the letter?" Neji asked sarcastically.

"Both, I guess? I mean, come on, why was Minji even there?" Tenten asked.

"Beats me. Something about running from her uncle," Neji slightly remembered.

"And the letter?" Tenten asked. Wow, throughout all their time training together, this was the most she was getting out of him in that whole time.

"The letter from Lee? Simple. It was from Lee," Neji declared. Tenten laughed.

"Please. Lee asking me out on a date it so-"

"So typical. He's been doing it for about a year, we were both wondering when you were going to figure it out. I'm not exactly a genius in that area but even I could tell when you were just being oblivious. God, you're like Naruto," Neji groaned.

"Hey, if you're not a genius in this area then how exactly do you have the right to tell me this?" Tenten asked.

"Freedom of speech. Is there anything in particular that you wanted or did you just happen to be out late? Either option is understandable," Neji said.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved that day. I was actually looking for Minji but I'm going to assume she has a curfew with Kakashi or something like that. Yeah, so, I'm really sorry about that though," Tenten blushed.

"Now I have a question," Neji said. They were getting closer to his house.

"What?" Tenten asked.

"Why did you get so mad thinking that I was the one who wrote the note?" Neji asked. He already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from Tenten's mouth.

"Um…well…I was sort of hoping…that you had written it…because…I liked you," Tenten said softly. Neji lifted an eyebrow. _Liked? _That was past tense.

"Well to inform you correctly, I really don't harbor any romantic feelings towards you, Tenten," Neji confessed.

"Why? Because you like Minji?" Tenten asked, and Neji couldn't help but notice there was something sour in her tone. Neji rolled the visible part of his eyes.

"Have you forgotten who I am? Me harboring romantic feelings for anything is absurd. Besides, I'm not the romantic type," Neji explained.

"Well, that would explain all that," Tenten laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. They reached the gate to Neji's estate and he closed it behind him.

"By the way" Neji said, "You do realize that you owe Lee a proper date, yes?"

"Ugh! Don't remind me!" Tenten said.

"A traveling amusement park is coming tomorrow morning and is staying in town for three days. Lee might take you there if anywhere else," Neji remembered.

"Well, good. That way, I can ditch him if I need the chance to," Tenten laughed. Neji gave off the hint of a smile and she turned to leave.

_At Sasuke's Estate:_

"Sasuke, this place is creepy, I don't understand how you can stay in here all by yourself," Naruto complained. They were in the old main room, where Sasuke had taken it upon himself to put a TV in it. To his demise, Minji had invited Sakura, which he wanted to kill her for. Handling Sakura during the day was hard, and now he had to be near her at night? Oh, kill him now. Naruto was sitting on the floor, while he, Minji and Sakura were on the couch. Sasuke had managed to set Minji next to Sakura so he didn't have to sit next to her.

"So, are we going to watch a scary movie?" Sakura asked.

"If I let any of you watch what a Uchiha calls a scary movie, you would all wet your pants," Sasuke said. He threw the remote at Naruto, expecting him to pick something quick.

"I know, let's watch one of those dramas so we can listen to Minji and Sakura complain throughout the whole thing," Naruto laughed.

"Hey, it is not us girls' fault if those girls or men have no sense," Minji giggled.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. Naruto scanned through the channels and came across a movie that was just starting.

"Oh! I like this movie!" Sakura exclaimed.

"What's it about? Some hopeless girl who can't get the man of her dreams?" Naruto snorted, almost choking on his ramen.

"No" Sakura snapped, making a mental note to hit him, "It's about a girl who gets raped by her father but she doesn't remember who did it and when they find out who did it, the girl turns into a murderer so she can go kill her father."

"Um, I don't think we should watch that," Sasuke piped up. Minji laughed.

"Why?" Minji asked.

"I…I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Sasuke said softly.

"Uncomfortable? Why would I feel-"

"Come on, let's watch it!" Sakura laughed. Minji nodded and they all settled back into the couch to watch it. Sasuke kept taking glances at Minji to make sure that she wasn't upset or anything like that. About twenty minutes into the movie, they finally started showing flashbacks of the rape.

"Wow, they always make these things look so real," Sakura said.

"Ha" Minji scoffed, "That is nothing compared to the real thing. Movies like this always under-exaggerate the seriousness of things like this. Besides, her dumb mother was too blind to see it either."

Sasuke turned his head to look at Minji, whose voice he noticed had cracked slightly when she said that. They all turned back to the movie and Sasuke unconsciously grabs hold of Minji's hand. Minji looks down for a fraction of a second, confused but doesn't say anything about it. The movie continues, with the girl in the movie bursting into tears every time someone mentions her scenario and the kids at school laugh at her because she doesn't talk to anybody.

"I don't understand why movies do that. The person is always the bullied one at school and then they meet this boy is supposed to be their life savior until you find out he's the most popular boy in school and now everyone calls the girl a slut. Like, that doesn't make any sense at all," Naruto complained, seeing the flaws in movies like this. Minji remained silent, and Sasuke noticed that she wasn't even looking at the film anymore. Suddenly, she moved.

"I have to use the restroom," Minji said as she got up. Sakura made a face, noticing the tune in her voice and followed her. When they got to the second hallway, Sakura spoke up.

"Hey, Minji, you okay?" Sakura asked.

"I'm fine" She heard Minji sniffle a little, "I'm just a little tired is all."

"You're lying, aren't you? What's wrong?" Sakura asked. She put a hand on her shoulder and noticed that Minji was shaking.

"Minji?" Sakura asked. Suddenly, Minji hit the wall and slid down it. She put her head in her arms and Sakura heard her start to cry. Sakura was very confused. She didn't know what was wrong with her or why she started crying. She went back to the main room.

"Um, Sasuke, do you have any tissues?" Sakura asked.

"In the cabinet. Why?" Sasuke asked, suspicious.

"Well um…Minji's crying so-"

"Crying?! I'm coming, Minji!" Naruto got up but was stopped when Sasuke punched him in the head. Naruto fell back with a bang.

"Leave Sakura to that, you brainless animal," Sasuke demanded. Sakura left and got the box of tissues. She went back into the hall and gave it to Minji.

"Oh? Um…thank you," Minji said, blowing her nose.

"You okay?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got a little….uncomfortable. Damn, I should've listened to Sasuke," Minji mentally kicked herself.

"Why were you uncomfortable?" Sakura asked.

"You really don't want to know," Minji shook her head.

"Yes, I do," Sakura said.

_In the Main Room:_

Sasuke knew that they shouldn't have turned to that movie, he just knew it. It was hard to pretend like he didn't know what was going on when he actually did. And he almost let on that he knew too. But what was he to do? He was trying to prevent her from crying, and he failed at that. He never thought he'd say this, but it was a good thing that Sakura was there after all or else he would've had to go back there and that would've proved that he knew her situation.

_Second Hallway:_

"Oh my God…that's messed up," Sakura said sadly.

"Yeah. So I can kind of relate to the girl in the movie. Except I didn't turn into a murderer and I already knew who did it," Minji shrugged.

"That's not cool. Didn't he go to jail?" Sakura said.

"I didn't press charges, even though my uncle wanted me to," Minji said.

"Hell, I would've pressed charges. So you're not actually visiting? You're living here?" Sakura asked and Minji nodded.

"Oh, Minji, I'm sorry. If I had known that I would've never been mean to you," Sakura said.

"Please. I'd take the being mean over the pity party any day," Minji asked.

"Does anybody else know?" Sakura asked.

"I think I mentioned it to Gaara that night we played manhunt but hey, it's not like he was listening to me," Minji half smiled.

"Yeah, talking to Gaara is like talking to a wall," Sakura agreed, laughing. Minji laughed too. It got quiet for only a second.

"You know Minji, you're a cool person. I'm sorry if I mistreated you when you the whole time," Sakura apologized.

"I just told you, I'm used to that so it didn't really bother me. But thanks for saying sorry, I appreciate that," Minji said. Sakura nodded. Minji was a nice person after all. She couldn't wait to tell Tenten and the others. But she wasn't going to say anything about what Minji told her, because that was something that even she wouldn't stoop so low as to tell. They both turned and heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Um, the movie ended. Do you guys need me to walk you home?" Sasuke asked.

"Um, actually, I was going to go with Naruto because he and I live closer to each other. Are you okay by yourself?" Sakura asked, looking at Minji.

"That's fine. Come on, Minji, I'll walk you home," Sasuke said, pulling her to her feet. They all went out the back entrance. Naruto and Sakura waved goodbye as they walked in the opposite direction of Sasuke and Minji.

"You sure you're going to alright on the way back?" Minji asked. Sasuke smirked.

"I dare someone to mess with me," Sasuke said.

"Hey Sasuke…why were you holding my hand?" Minji asked.

"Oh, so you noticed?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes I did. Why did you?" Minji asked.

"You looked uncomfortable watching that movie so…," Sasuke trailed off.

"But how would you kn-…" Minji went quiet for a second, putting the pieces together, " You know…don't you?"

"Kakashi-sensei was talking on the phone and I sort of ease dropped. That's why I didn't want to turn to the movie," Sasuke admitted.

"Why didn't you just tell me? I wasn't going to be mad," Minji said.

"Well, that's not conversation words," Sasuke said. Minji giggled and it was quiet for the rest of the walk. They got to Minji's door.

"My uncles' light is on. Either he was waiting up for me or he's reading his erotic books," Minji rolled her eyes.

"I think it's the latter," Sasuke said and Minji laughed.

"Hey Sasuke, thanks for you know…attempting to watch out for me. But don't you pity me ever again," Minji laughed.

"I know what it's like to be pitied so I probably should've known not to do that" Sasuke said, rubbing the back of his head, "But um, Minji…you know if you ever need somebody to talk to…"

"you're only four blocks away from me," Minji finished it for him.

"Yeah, something like that," Sasuke said. He kissed her on the cheek and before Minji could say anything he was gone.

_Okay, so I kind of ended this chapter a little awkward but I sort of lost my steam because I was thinking about the future chapters. So what do you guys think? Looks like Neji's out of the running for Minji…or is he? And what fun! An amusement park! Anything can happen there! In the next chapter, Tenten goes on a proper date with Lee to the amusement park and it looks like everyone else is there as well. Rate and review! _


	37. Author's Note

_Hey guys, sorry this is a little author's note. I will be updating much faster as you can see but I've just got a few things to say:_

_I did my homework, and even though I couldn't get past season five of Naruto because it just lost my interest doesn't mean that I didn't read on their wiki about what's going on with them. _

_I never intended for Gaara and Temari to be a couple. I've had a few inbox messages about that and like I said, I did my homework. Temari's upset over her brother not treating her like a sister. That's the problem with her. _

_My goal in my stories is to have the characters change throughout the story as the story progresses. Because let's face it, if all the characters were the same throughout the entire story, wouldn't that be boring? Because nothing would change._

_Sorry to all the die hard Naruto fans that feel as if my story has put your people OOC. Read number three above if you have a problem with it _

_I don't put this in my story summaries but it's all the same. If you don't like then don't read._

_That is all! Sorry for the author's note but the inbox messages were killing me. _


	38. Talks Like An Angel

Chapter 38:

Talks Like An Angel

Tenten didn't want to admit it, but she was actually having a fun time with Lee. Lee was being a very nice gentlemen and he was suppressing the urge to go into one of his rants about his honor and what he was going to do to better himself and yadda yadda yadda. But Tenten was mad tired, and she needed to rest. Lee was somewhere getting them cotton candy when she heard giggling behind her. She looked towards the entrance and saw her friends coming in. Well, the girls anyway. The only person she didn't like who came in was Minji.

"Hey Tenten!" they greeted her.

"Hey guys," Tenten yawned.

"You tired?" Minji asked.

"How's your date with Lee going?" Sakura asked.

"By a shock, it's going fine. Lee went to go buy come cotton candy. Hey, where are the boys?" Tenten asked, ignoring Minji's question purposely.

"I'm not sure. Sasuke isn't coming until way later, Naruto said he, Hinata and Neji were already here, Shikamaru is somewhere in the heaps of all this, and Gaara and Kankuro are by some game Kankuro keeps losing at," Temari off on her fingers. Everyone knew already that Shino wasn't into this type of stuff and Choji was at the food stands as usual. That counted for everyone but Kiba, but Kiba met Tenten and Lee at the entrance and she hasn't seen him since.

'I am back! And I have brought the sweet cotton candy to which you have requested-"

"Lee, you're doing it again," Tenten said, laughing.

"Right. Sorry…oh! Hello lady comrads," Lee greeted them warmly.

"His choice of vocabulary amuses me more and more each day," Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance. They all heard shouting and turned to find Naruto shouting at them, waving God knows what in his hand.

"Hey guys!" Naruto shouted. He stopped when he got to them and caught his breath, "You will never believe what I won!"

"Some self respect?" Ino guessed. Naruto glared at her.

"No! I won a free coupon for free ramen for an entire month!" Naruto said.

"Didn't Neji already give you one of those?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah but now I have _two _free months of free ramen! Man, life is good!" Naruto sighed happily, sniffing his coupon as if he could taste the free ramen already, "Well, what are you all standing around here for? Let's get on some rides!"

"Um, actually, Tenten and I were-"

"Yeah!" the rest of them shouted. They all ran off and Tenten ran off with them, knocking of the cotton candy sticks to the groun. That hurt Lee a little bit but he ignored it and figured that they'd get back to it after a few rides with his friends. The only part that confused him was that earlier Tenten had said that she was tired and wanted to rest. Did she lie to him?

_An hour later:_

Hinata hugged the stuffed animal to herself, happy that it was so snug and soft. Being in a good yet odd mood, Neji had won it for her by guessing how many coins were in this massive jar. Of course the owner wanted him to prove it but Neji insisted that the owner probably just counted them all while Neji simply did the math. The owner ranted but by then they were already walking away after Hinata grabbed the prize off the board.

"Can we leave now? This is giving me a headache," Neji complained.

"Hey! Hinata! Neji!" They heard a voice shout. It was Naruto, and while Hinata blushed, Neji rolled his eyes. Just when Neji wanted to leave, here comes Naruto with the whole lot. Only people missing were Kankuro and Gaara.

"Oh great, I thought we lost you," Neji said.

"Too bad. I found everyone else! We've been going on rides nonstop, you guys want to join us?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not a ride person," Neji said.

"Those rides….are…really…scary," Hinata stammered.

"Oh, come on! They're not that scary! Look, there's the ferris wheel, and that ride is slow! Come on, Hinata, let's go on that one!" Naruto said happily.

"But I-ah!" Hinata exclaimed as Naruto dragged her away.

"Is she going to be okay?" Sakura asked, laughing.

"You're asking the wrong person. Has he been doing this all day?" Neji asked.

"Basically," Tenten replied. She turned to Lee and saw that he looked a little upset but she didn't know why.

"Hey, Lee, are you alright?" Tenten asked.

"Not really. You see, the thing is-"

"Sasuke's here!" Ino and Sakura both caught sight of him at the same time. Lee looked away, having again being interrupted by someone. Sasuke, hearing his name being called, looked up and almost regretted doing so. Sakura and Ino practically ran over there.

"You got here all late!" Sakura complained.

"I never said I'd be here at a certain time. I had things to do," Sasuke said, pushing past them. The truth is Sasuke purposely came late because he was trying to avoid what had just happened but he failed. Maybe he shouldn't have come at all. He saw Minji and his mood brightened a little bit, but she had pulled Tenten to the side.

"Oh, great, what do you want?" Tenten complained, crossing her arms.

"Look, I'm tired of fighting with you because you don't like me so can we settle this?" Minji asked.

"There's nothing to settle so I guess we're done talking," Tenten said.

"Tenten, if this is about that park thing with Neji-"

"It's not. You already told me what happened, remember?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, but it's vaguely obvious that you don't believe me," Minji said.

"Oh no, I believe you. I just don't understand why Neji would rather be around you than me….but then again it doesn't even matter anymore," Tenten sighed.

"Um, I don't think that's the truth. I just got here and it's not that Neji wants to spend time with me, it's just that I always happen to run into him or vice versa. Same thing with Sasuke but I'm not all that worried about it because it's clear that Sakura and Ino don't care because in their mind, I'm not competition" Minji rolled her eyes, "But why the sudden it doesn't matter anymore?"

"Nothing. It's just that it doesn't matter anymore. I got my answer from him yesterday," Tenten looked away.

"He rejected you, didn't he?" Minji asked.

"Yeah, **but **I'm not all that upset. I mean he rejected you too," Tenten shrugged her shoulders.

"What? How? I wasn't even there," Minji asked, confused.

"Well, I asked him if he didn't like me because he liked you and he said he's not the romantic type and that him harboring feelings for anybody is absurd or something close to that," Tenten said, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Wow" Minji blinked, "I got rejected and wasn't even there to accept it."

"You're not hurt are you?" Tenten asked, although she didn't really care. Neji denied Minji, that was all she was happy about.

"No, of course not, what kind of person do you think I am? Wait, don't answer that," Minji smirked. Tenten couldn't help it, she laughed. She was starting to think that maybe Minji wasn't such a bad person after all and she herself was just being stubborn. Maybe. Just maybe.

_On the Ferris Wheel:_

"Hinata, calm down, we're not even on the top. But whoever it is, they're taking a really long time to get this thing going," Naruto noticed, smirking to himself.

"We're still too high! I…I don't…like…this," Hinata stammered. She had her knees hugged to her chest and was refusing to look up from her arms.

"Aw, come on, Hinata, it's not that bad. Besides, we got a beautiful view from up here!" Naruto smiled. Hinata looked up slightly.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Look for yourself," Naruto said. Hinata stayed put a for a long two minutes before finally taking a deep breath and looking up.

And she smiled.

The view was pretty, it was very pretty.

"You're right," Hinata said, grinning. Then she sighed.  
"What's the matter?" Naruto asked.

"Neji…would've liked…this. It would've brightened his mood," Hinata said, looking away from Naruto.

"There's nothing in the world that could brighten Neji's mood but I'm not going to lie, he's been a little more agitated than usual," Naruto admitted.

"I know. It's because of Kiba," Hinata said and it took Naruto a moment to realize that she wasn't stammering when she spoke either.

"Kiba? Why-why would you think that?!" Naruto asked, scared that maybe shse had found out about what Kiba had seen.  
"They've been arguing every time they see each other lately….wait, Naruto, do you-you know something?" Hinata asked, noticing the change in his voice.

"What are you ta-talking about? I don't know anything," Naruto was stammering now.

"You're lying," Hinata said curtly, and surprised herself by how serious she just sounded. Naruto twiddled his fingers, avoiding eye contact with Hinata but he could feel her eyes on him.

Naruto hated pressure, he just hated it.

"Okay!Okay! I confess!" Naruto said, "Neji found out that Kiba saw you two kissing on the roof and he thought that you two were doing that incest stuff and then on your birthday, Neji pulled me aside and explained what was going on and he askedmetodisguisemyselfashimandkissyouonyourbirthd aysohewouldn'thavetodoit and then he gave me my coupon and-"  
"Wait" Hinata paused him, confused, "What was that last part?"

"He gave me the coupon?" Naruto asked.

"No, before that," Hinata said.

"You two were doing incest stuff?" Naruto asked.

"In the middle," Hinata complained.

"He made me disguise myself as him so he wouldn't have to kiss you on your birthday," Naruto said slowly this time.

"Wait, so that was you…then..Ah!" Hinata turned away, she could feel her face going red and she didn't know if was going to be able to stop it this time.

_It was Naruto! _Hinata thought frantically, _Naruto kissed me?! And I didn't even know it?! Oh no, oh no! This is so embarrassing, this is beyond embarrassing! Oh, I can't even look at him now!_

"Um, Hinata, you okay?" Naruto asked. Hinata froze but didn't turn around to meet his eye.

"Um, you're not disgusted with it, are you? Because I know I'm not exactly the best at kissing people but that coupon was so tempting-"

"It's…not that," Hinata stammered, back to her usual talking.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"it's just that…I thought…it was…N-Neji who did it…and…um….um….um….I….I liked…it," Hinata admitted. She said it under her breath and she still wasn't facing him but Naruto could hear her just fine, seeing as they were on the ferris wheel and there wasn't much room in there to begin with.

_She liked it _Naruto thought. He wasn't going to lie, he was nervous as hell that Hinata was going to hit him straight upside the head for doing something like that behind her back but then again, she wasn't even trying to lift her hands away from her face.

"Um…are you…still there?" Hinata asked, although she wasn't about to turn around and find out for herself.

_She liked it._ Naruto thought.

"Um…hello?" Hinata asked, still not facing him.

_She liked it._

"Naruto?" Hinata asked.

_SHE LIKED IT!_

"Naru-to?" Hinata asked, and this time, for fear that he had managed to get off the ride, turned around to see if was there.

And was met with his lips as he kissed her.

Hinata melted.

_That's it for this chapter! Yes, I'm finally back! I had something better planned for this chapter but hey, I like how it went __. So what do you guys think if you're still following this story. I hope I didn't lose any of you guys! Rate and review! In the next chapter, we go to see what Gaara's up to and Minji finds him. What will happen? Also, Tenten something she shouldn't have seen, but I won't say what and Lee has just about had enough of people ruining his date. Rate and Review! Next chapter is titled "But I Got Wise". And just in case you haven't noticed I've been using the lyrics from my favorite Elvis Presley song 'Devil in Disguise'_


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